Adventure of a Lifetime
by luvgirl101
Summary: The Company stumble upon a door in a tree while they set up camp. The ever curious Kili and Fili open the door only to get the entire Company of Thorin Oakenshield pulled into the NYC apartment of three unsuspecting women. How will they adapt for a couple weeks in the 21st century? Will they get back home? Will the women join them? How can they change the fate of three dwarves?
1. It Started With A Whisper

_**Author's Note: **_Ok people, so I have had a friend message me—huntressofartemis101—thank you by the way—and basically I'm going to start over. The story is still the same plot but it will be way more interesting, not as dry. I'll be going through and rewriting my chapters (going with original ideas for some characters and shipping), so look for updates over the next week or so, and hopefully my story will get a bigger response than it has already. Thank you to those who have favorite/followed/read my story as is—it makes me glad to know you like the story plot I came up with. With out further ado, here is the update of chapter one—enjoy!

*Disclaimer: I do not own The Hobbit characters, those rights go to J.R.R. Tolkien. Nor do I own the bits of script from the movie I incorporate, those rights go to Sir Peter Jackson. I only own my OCs.

—

**Kyra**

_Kyra_. A feminine voice called out softly in the night. _Kyra_, it whispered again. The young woman grumbled in her sleep and turned over in her large bed. _Kyra, they are coming. They will need your help_. The voice was soft and gentle; it was definitely a feminine voice. It sounded almost familiar to her. _Kyra_, the woman began again, _Kyra he will need your love to survive and only you can save him. _Kyra woke with a start. The brunette could not get the melodic voice out of her head and she couldn't understand what it was trying to warn her of. _**Who was coming?Why would they need my help? Love?**_**Ha! **_**Love is for the weak minded**__—_or so she had been told many a time by her father—and she was far too mature to believe in such fairytale nonsense. _**What did **__**"**__**love**__**" **__**ever get me but a jerk of a boyfriend, who I caught in MY bed with another woman!?**_ She yawned and rolled onto her other side to stare at her end table. Wiping the sleep from her eyes, she looked at the clock. It read 5:30am.

"Seriously!?" she growled. She had just gotten home a little over two hours ago from her job as bartender at a nightclub and she could not believe she was wide awake now. With a groan, she fell back on to her pillows. _**Just try to go back to sleep. You don't work for the next three days, so enjoy what sleep you can get,**_ she thought to herself. But sleep eluded her and she was forced to just lay there until the sun rose above the horizon. She laid there thinking over her dream. _**That voice was so familiar. Maybe I should have Sara check my head for any signs of**__**…**__**well I don**__**'**__**t know exactly what. She**__**'**__**s the nurse, not me.**_No longer able to just lay there, Kyra begrudgingly got out of bed and shuffled her way down the hall to the kitchen-dining area. She faltered her steps when she heard the light laughter of her two roommates, Sara and Emma. _**Figures they would be back from their morning run.**_She turned the corner to the kitchen and could see the two women were making breakfast and talking animately to one another._**How the hell can they be so perky in the morning? Oh yeah! They have normal day time jobs while you**__**'**__**re stuck as a bartender in a dead end job**__**…**__**I need coffee.**_

"Morning sunshine!" Sara energetically and loudly called out to her. Kyra put a hand to silence her friend and grunted back in greeting, as headed straight toward her coffee mug, pouring herself a large cup full.

"Good morning Kyra," Emma chimed in, much quieter than Sara had. "How did you sleep? I thought you were going to sleep in today?"

"I was," Kyra grumbled, "but apparently my mind had other plans." _**Yep. Definitely need coffee.**_

Emma and Sara snickered at that. Sara shook her head and handed Kyra a plate of pancakes with eggs and bacon. Kyra thanked her and sat down next to Emma at the dining table. Emma smirked at her.

"Don't overexert yourself, Kyra," Emma said with a laugh, "wouldn't want you to get exhausted lifting your cup of coffee and eating your food, now would we?"

She looked at Emma with a scowl and proceeded to show her a rude hand gesture.

"My, my," Emma cooed, "someone certainly woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning."

"Unlike SOME people, I work nights, so forgive me for not being too chipper in the morning," she grumbled.

"Aw, poor baby," Sara butted in, "whatever shall we do with you? Do we need to tickle you to make you more awake?" An evil grin grew on Sara and Emma's face. Kyra looked at them with wide eyes.

"Don't. You. Dare!"

"Get her!"

Sara and Emma tackled her to the ground and proceeded to poke and prod her sides, until she was gasping for breath.

"Alright!" she yelled out through her laughter, "Alright! I'll cheer up! Please stop!"

Sara backed off and helped Kyra back up, then helped Emma—who was still giggling like mad—and they sat down to finish eating. _**I**__**'**__**m lucky to have two best friends in my life!**_Kyra thought with a smile. _**Today**__**'**__**s going to be a great day. Stupid dreams won**__**'**__**t get me down.**_

**Sara**

Sara busied herself with cleaning up the breakfast food and clearing away the dishes. She stood before the sink, drying off pots and pans and took a moment to observe two friends for a while. She always thought the two of them could be sisters. They are complete opposites in looks—Kyra had long light brown hair and blue eyes, while Emma had golden hair and blue/green eyes—but they behaved like long lost sisters. The way they spoke to each other and teased one another would give that impression to anyone. She loved her roommates. She had always seen them as her little sisters and loved having someone to look after again. Sara had been the eldest of five children growing up and after her siblings left the house to live their lives, she had felt a little useless. She had been the one to practically raise all of her siblings, while her parents were off on trips or vacations, _**oh the joys of coming from wealth**_**.** She was grateful for her upbringing, but her parents never thought she did enough with her life. She never dated the right guy, she didn't go on to become a doctor, and her mother told her she looked too much like her grandmother—her mother never did like her mother-in-law—Sara had tan skin, black raven hair, but she had her father's dark green eyes. All of her other siblings had blond or light brown hair and blue or brown eyes. Not her, she was the spitting image of her Grandma Walker. She eventually got over her parents prejudices against her and moved out as soon as she could. She went to nursing school and worked at a prestige hospital. Now she was living with her two best friends and though they didn't always voice their annoyance with her—Kyra was usually the one to loudly protest being babied—they still allowed her that little reassurance that they were being taken care of. Sara was brought out of her reverie by Emma's voice.

"Sara?"

"Hmm?"

"Are you ok?"

"Yes Em, I'm great." In truth she was doing great, but she had had a strange dream that night. She had heard a strange voice calling out to her and the voice she had heard kept telling her that someone would need her love in order to save him. _**What could that mean? How could love save someone?**_ She was such a hopeless romantic. When she fell for someone, she fell hard. Her last boyfriend was sweet, but he wanted her for her family name and not for her. Sara shook her head and finished up wiping down the countertops and listened to the other girls' conversation.

**Emma**

"So what are you two up to today?" Kyra asked.

"Well," Sara proclaimed dramatically, "we were going to go down to the bookstore and get a few things, maybe do some clothes shopping, and then come back and have a Lord of the Rings/Hobbit movie marathon today."

"Sounds fun! Mind if I join you guys?"

"Of course!" Emma exclaimed. She loved hanging out with both of her roommates. It always fun and she loved spending time with the both of them.

The girls went to their rooms to get ready to go out. Emma was her in room mentally preparing herself for the day. She had had a hard time sleeping last night and she couldn't understand the meaning behind it. She had heard a woman talking to her in her dream and it unnerved her to no end. The women spoke about a man who would come into her life, who needed her love in order to change his fate. _**What did that mean?**_ She wondered what could have brought that about in her dreams. She was absolutely terrified of men, well she did like to look at the attractive ones, but she had never been in any kind of relationship that wasn't familial._**Love? I**__**'**__**ve read romance stories and fairytales, but I know those don**__**'**__**t ever come true.**_ She was a romantic at heart. She wanted to have a "handsome prince" come into her life and sweep her off her feet. She shuddered, "No, Emma," she scolded herself, "you're way too shy around men. Best stick to your books and art."

"Emma!" She heard the impatience in Kyra's tone. "I'm coming!" she yelled back. She checked herself in the mirror once more and grabbed her bag. The three left their apartment and headed out into the beautiful sunny day in Manhattan, unaware of what unexpected things would come into their lives.


	2. What's This? What's This?

_**Author**__**'**__**s Note: **_Holy cow! Already have followers and someone is asking for more! :D Well I won't leave you guys hanging, we haven't even gotten to the best scenes of the story yet! I looked through my chapters that are done up for this and I'll probably end up just posting what I have. Then I can focus my attention on future chapters and answering to your guys reviews. So here we have chapter two: if any of you have seen "The Nightmare Before Christmas" the scene where Jack gets pulled into a vortex after opening up the door on the tree…that's where I got the idea from. Plus I can totally picture Kili just dying to open the door. Enjoy reading and I'll be back with an update ASAP! :D

"Where did you go, if I may ask?" Thorin Oakenshield asked of Gandalf. He had been unnerved by their encounter with the trolls, but he was glad that the wizard had shown up when he did.

"To look ahead," Gandalf replied.

"What brought you back?"

"Looking behind. Nasty business, but still you're all in one piece," Gandalfed voiced with amusement.

"No thanks to your burglar," Thorin was still unsure of the hobbit's presence among his company, but he trusted Gandalf knew what he was doing.

"He had the nous to play for time. None of the rest of you thought of that," Gandalf said with a smirk. Thorin bowed his head slightly. He knew the hobbit was trying to get them out of that mess, but he still had had men tied up on a spit. Had the wizard of been any later...Thorin shuddered at the thought.

"They must have come down from the Ettenmoors."

"Since when do mountain trolls venture this far south?" Thorin knew no good could come from trolls showing up again in once safe places of the world.

"Oh, not for an age," Gandalf continued hesitantly, "not since a darker power ruled these lands." This troubled him. He could feel a dark force was starting to grow, but this just confirmed his worried mind. "They could not have moved in daylight," he observed.

"There must be a cave nearby," Thorin interjected.

The company scouted around, looking for the hoard that the trolls were sure to have obtained. Finally they found the cave and the dwarves, hobbit and wizard entered the foul smelling hoard.

"Oi! What's that stench!?" Nori voiced everyone's thought.

"It's a troll hoard," Gandalf replied exasperatedly, "Be careful what you touch!"

The dwarves spread throughout the cave, taking in the amounts of gold and other treasures that they were seeing. Some of the dwarves took on the task of burying the gold in the ground, claiming it was a long-term deposit. Others were just content to look over all of the beautiful treasures they were seeing. Thorin found an array of swords and picked one up to inspect.

"These were not made by any troll," he observed.

Gandalf withdrew a second sword from the group, "Nor were they made by any smith among men." He dusted off the beautiful sword and with recognition in his eyes he voiced, "These were made in Gondolin, by the High Elves of the First Age."

At this Thorin started to put the sword back with distaste on his face.

"You could not wish for a finer blade," Gandalf said with annoyance and walked away from the dwarf king.

Thorin unsheathed the sword and took in it's beauty. It truly was a well-crafted sword, even if it was elvish. "Let's get out of this foul place."

The company followed Thorin out of the cave and went to go set up camp for the night. The dwarves were celebrating their narrow escape from the trolls and praising Bilbo for his quick thinking. Fili and Kili, after a time, got bored and decided to volunteer to go out scouting and collect more firewood for the night.

"So brother," Fili started with a laugh, "just how big were your parasites?"

Kili growled and playfully pushed his brother aside. "I was only trying to make the trolls believe that we were infected, so we would not be eaten."

Fili laughed even harder at this. They all had voiced their "infection" loudly but Kili's had been the most vocal. "Whatever you say brother," Fili smirked at Kili's pouting face.

The brothers kept scouting the area, all the while laughing and joking about their adventure thus far. Just as the brothers were about to head back to camp, something caught Kili's eye. It was a slight shine in the moonlight, but he started towards the general area where he had seen it.

"Where are you going?" Fili asked. He was hungry and ready to go head back to camp for some food.

"I thought I saw something over here," Kili said distractedly as he headed further into the woods.

Fili grumbled to himself about dealing with a child and followed after his brother. _Just be glad he is safe and that no harm has befallen him_, Fili thought to himself. Distracted in his thoughts he didn't notice Kili had stopped walking and bumped into him.

"What are you doing? Why did you-" Fili just stopped and stared in the direction Kili's wide eyes were looking at. Just a few yards further up from the brothers was a large oak tree. At first glance it seemed like a normal, average oak tree. However, upon further inspection there was set into the tree itself a door. How on earth had it gotten there and why? The brothers could not understand this strange sight before them. Kili took a tentative step forward, but Fili quickly caught his shoulder and pulled him back.

"What do you think you are doing?" Fili voiced with concern in his tone. "You don't know if it's a trap." He eyed the tree with suspicion and started to pull Kili towards camp.

"We should tell Uncle what we found," Kili said with excitement in his voice. "Maybe it has treasure inside!"

"Or we should just ignore it and leave quietly from this place." Fili was always the cautious one. He didn't like the foreboding feeling about this tree and he wanted to get his baby brother away from it as soon as he could.

"Fili! Kili!" The sound of their Uncle's voice broke the silence of the woods and the boys headed back towards camp.

"What in Durin's name is taking you two so long?" Thorin had grown worried when the boys did not come back after the sun had set.

"Uncle! We found something!" Kili exclaimed excitedly.

"No, we did not," Fili voiced with certainty.

Thorin looked between the two brothers. Kili had a broad grin on his face, eager to show him whatever it was he stumbled upon. Fili, however, had a concerned look on his face. Thorin wasn't sure what to make of that. Usually when the boys found something of interest they both would get excited about their discovery. To see that one did not share in the other's reverie was worrying. "What is it you found?" Thorin asked, genuinely curious.

"This way," Kili called over his shoulder as he headed deeper into the woods.

At this time the entire company had gathered round to hear what was going on. When they saw Thorin follow the boys into the forest, they too followed along.

"Look!" Kili yelled. He was excited and he wanted to explore this new discovery as soon as possible.

Before the company stood a large oak tree, but there was a door portruding from it. They all were now curious as to what it was.

"What's this?" Gandalf asked, he had never seen anything like it in his life.

"Can we open it?" Kili asked as he started for the door, but Thorin held out an arm to stop him.

"Let's have the burglar go first. It is his area of expertise," Thorin said with a little sarcasm.

Bilbo looked aboslutely horrified. _Oh, why me? Oh, right they hired me on as a burglar._ He looked at Gandalf with forlorn and the wizard gave him a nod of encouragement.

"Alright," Bilbo sighed, "I'll check it out then, shall I?"

As slow as he dared, Bilbo took cautious steps towards the door. He looked back pleadingly, but a stern look from Thorin motivated him to continue on his path. He reached out with his left hand and turned the knob. Bilbo flung the door open and sprang back from the door...nothing; absolutely nothing happened and nothing came out of the door.

All present released a collective breath they had been holding. "Well, that answers that," Balin sighed. Each of the company members nod in agreement and start back to camp. Kili couldn't believe that something so mysterious could have nothing happen. _Huh, I thought for sure it would lead to something grand or new._ Just as he turned to leave, Kili could feel a gust of wind whip around him. It was a strong wind that started to lift him from the ground. Kili called out in terror and the company whipped their heads back to where the sound came from.

"Kili!" Fili yelled out and grabbed at his brother, who had been lifted several feet above the ground, and tried to pull him back to the earth. Unexpectedly, Fili also was lifted from the ground. Thorin yelled out in shock and grabbed onto Fili's arm, but he too was lifted by the great wind. The rest of the company felt the effects of the wind and saw what was happening. Each of them latched on to one another as the wind picked up more and started to pull them towards the open door. Gandalf was the last of the group to be sucked in and he tried with all his might to resist the pull, but the wind was far too strong and the company was pulled into the dark abyss; the door slammed shut by the force and then darkness.


	3. It's Raining Men

**Author's Note: Here is the updated version of ****"****It****'****s Raining Men****"—****told in different POVs again. I ended up cutting this chapter in half. But don****'****t worry that funny stuff is still there and so are the connections****—****although those have been altered a tad as well. You****'****ll read about the Durin boys POV in my next new chapter. I hope you enjoy the changes I have made and appreciate that I have kept the story pretty much the same plot-wise. Enjoy!**

—

**Kyra**

"_Fili and Kili, at your service. You must be Mr. Boggins! NOPE you can't come in you've come to the wrong house. What?! Has it been cancelled? No one told us. Wha-? Cancelled? No nothing's been cancelled. Well, that's a relief."_

_**Oh my God! This scene still cracks me up! I totally needed this today, **_Kyra thought. She had spent the remainder of the day shopping and laughing with her BFFs, enjoying the beautiful sunny day. Her mood had been uplifted by the day's end. _**So glad for coffee and now the wine! I better take it slow, don't want to get too tipsy. **_Her and Emma had been playing pranks on poor, unsuspecting people throughout the day. _**We are never going to be allowed back into that pastry shop ever again. Sheesh some people can't take a joke. It was just a little mayo replacing some custard in a donut—nothing to get all freaked out over. The look on that snooty girl's face was priceless! **_She relaxed into the couch cushions and kept watching her favorite movie _The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. _They ordered out for food and were lounging in their PJs on the couch with some cheese and wine. These were the kind of weekends the she missed the most over the years that they lived together. Their lives were so busy nowadays that she hardly ever saw her friends anymore. _**Oooh! Here's the best part of Bilbo's house!**_

"_(__Ring) No, no, there's nobody home! Go away and bother somebody else! There's far too many dwarves in my dining room as it is. If-if-if this is some clot-head's idea of a joke ha ha, then I can only say, it is in very poor taste."_In the scene Bilbo pulls open his front door and the rest of the company falls to the floor in a heap. The girls were laughing so hard (even though they have seen the movie numerous times, it still makes them laugh), _**Oh man, we are so tipsy! We should not be laughing this hard.**_ Neither of the girls heard the loud thud from the hallway closet.

**Kili**

_**Why is it so dark? At least we have stopped spinning. I feel sick**__**…**__**I knew I shouldn**__**'**__**t have snuck some of Fili**__**'**__**s stew when he wasn**__**'**__**t looking. OW!**_

"I can't see!"

"What's going on?"

"Where are we?"

"Would you get your foot out of my back!"

"Don't blame me!"

"I don't care who it is just get your foot out of my back!"

"Ouch! That was me eye!"

"Silence!"

"There's something digging into my back!" Kili grumbled and felt behind him for whatever it was prodding his lower back. He felt something round, like a doorknob, and twisted it. The force from the dwarves behind him caused him to push open another door and he, along with the rest of the company, fell unceremoniously to the floor. He gave a yelp as he hit the hard surface and was now at the bottom of the pile of dwarves, with Bombur on the very top.

"Oi!" Kili gasped, "Get. Off. Me."

**Sara**

_**What the hell was that? **_From the living room the three women could hear male voices coming from the hall. She stopped the movie and looked at the other girls. Panic was evident in their eyes. _**Who the hell could have broken into our apartment?**_ was the thought that had crossed their minds. She could see that Kyra had reached under the couch for the hidden metal baseball bat that was kept there and drew it up like a sword. _**I need some kind of weapon**_, she had just cut off some cheese, held up her cheese knife—_**I guess it's better than nothing—**_to try to protect herself from whomever it was that intruded into their home. Emma gave a loud squeak of fear and raised the pillow she had been hugging above her head. _**A pillow Em? That's what you're going to use to protect yourself? Poor thing is shaking. **_The girls all rose to their feet and got into a defensive position.

"Em, get behind Kyra and me," she said confidently, even though inside she was totally freaking out. _**Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God! I thought this was a safe neighborhood, with a neighborhood watch! That's what the nice little old lady told me when we moved in. We are so going to die!**_ Then slowly she and the other girls started towards the hallway.

**Third Person POV**

The dwarves untangled themselves from each other and hurried to their feet. They were at a lost as to what had happened to them. They looked towards the door and Nori had tried to go back through but he ran into the back of the closet. Then there was a loud squeak from behind them. The company whirled around and drew their weapons. Gandalf made his way to the front of the group, staff at the ready along with his new sword. Three shadows along the wall crept closer to the dwarves and they prepared for battle with whatever they may encounter. None of them were ready for what they saw.

**Kyra**

Sara and I were out in front of Emma, _**Seriously Em? A pillow? What are you planning to do with that? Fluff them to death? **_and came around the corner "weapons" at the ready and saw a bunch of men with **real **weapons pointed at us! Emma let out a shriek and cowered behind Sara and me. As always Sara took the initiative.

"How the hell did you get in here!" Sara demanded. I started to roll my eyes, _**yeah like they are really going to be intimidated by a little woman with a fucking cheese knife. Shit! One of them has a bow and arrow and some have axes! Dammit! I wish I had my pepper spray right now!**_

She took a tentative step towards the men, showing them that she was not afraid of them. The tall man in front of her had a long sword and staff. She lowered her bat some and tilted her head slightly, as she scrunched up her face in concentration. _**Okay, I know I've got some alcohol in my system, but that guy looks a lot like Gandalf! What the fuck is going on!?**_

"We mean you no harm," the old man said in a gentle voice. He sheathed his sword and motioned for the others to do the same. "We do not know how we came to be in your home, but I can assure you we mean you no harm."

"Who are you?" Sara asked the obvious question.

"Iam Gandalf the Grey," the old man said, "and these dwarves and hobbit are my companions." Gandalf motioned to the men behind him.

We looked around at each of the men, then at each other and broke out into hysterical laughter.

"Gandalf?" Sara laughed. "Gandalf the gray?"

"Dwarves?" Emma guffawed.

"Hobbit?" I cried out through fits of laughter. "What the hell do you take us for?"

I could see, through my tears of laughter, that the men were caught off guard by our reactions. I eventually dropped my bat and fell to the floor, clutching my sides, and gasping for air. _**Oh my God! This is hilarious! **_

"If you're Gandalf," Sara started, with a bit of laughter, "then- then those must be the dwarves of the company of Thorin Oakenshield." Sara could not hold back her laughter. _**This is the best prank I have ever been apart of**_. Sara turned to Emma and I said, "This is the best prank you two have ever come up with!" _**Wait, what?**_

Emma and I ceased our laughter and stared at Sara with wide eyes. "We didn't do this, I thought you had?" Emma voiced with a hint of worry.

Sara's face visibly paled, shook her head and turned back towards the men.

"Wait a minute!" Kyra called out, "If you (pointing at Sara) didn't do this and you (pointing at Emma) didn't do this…then who the hell did?"

Sara looked at the man before her, _**Damn! He looks just like the movie version of Thorin Oakenshield, **_and asked, "Who are you?"

The man looked toward "Gandalf" and with a reassured nod turned back towards Sara.

"I am Thorin, son of Thrain, son of Thror King Under the Mountain," he stated quite boldly.

Sara stared at him, slack-jawed and then turned towards Em and me. Kyra could see her motioning with her eyes for us to go out to the living room. With screams of terror, we bolted for the living room. _**There are men in our apartment who think they are fictional characters!**_ Sara lunged for her cell phone and started to dial 911, when suddenly her phone was torn from her hand and sent flying through the air into the hands of "Gandalf."

"Ladies, I can assure you, we are who we say we are," the one who was "Gandalf" stated. _**Oh shit! We're surrounded! **_"We mean you no harm but I must ask," he waited until he had each of our attention. "Where are we?"

"Manhattan," Sara said with a tremor.

"What is the year?"

"…2014."

"I see," he then turned to "Thorin", who stood just behind Sara with a pensive look on his face. "We have been transported to another realm and time."

The men looked around at each other and started mumbling about how this could have happened and whether or not they could go back.

I looked around at the men and did notice that they all looked very similar to their movie counterparts. _**Shit! This has got to be some kind of joke! **_Then I looked over at Em, poor thing looked like she was going to piss her pants! _**She**__**'**__**s terrified of men and now she is surrounded by fifteen of them, great, just fantastic!**_ I then looked over to Sara and saw her looking at the men, wait no, just one…_**Oh for fuck**__**'**__**s sake Sara! Don**__**'**__**t give fake Thorin **__**"**__**the eyes.**__**" **_She rolled her eyes and scoped the place out again. Feeling vulnerable never sat well with her. Her bat, that she had dropped from her laughing, lay too far away for her to retrieve. _**Well at least they put their weapons away,**_ but the blond in front of her made her nervous. _**Jesus, I knew that Dean O**__**'**__**Gorman**__**'**__**s **__**"**__**Fili**__**' **__**character had tons of weapons on him, but damn son! **_She counted 10 knives on him that she could actually pick out, though she was sure there were more hidden away. Her eyes trailed up to his gorgeous face—_**wait did I just say gorgeous?**__**—**_and she could see him smirking at her, so she glared at him. _**Don**__**'**__**t even think about it pretty boy.**_

**Emma**

_**Oh my goodness! We are so going to die! **_She was on the verge of tears. She'd never been this frightened in her life. _**Somehow fifteen men had entered our home and now they tell us that they are the actual company of Thorin Oakenshield!?**_ She wasn't sure if the cops would be of help at this point or a psych ward. Her breaths were coming in short panting breaths—_**great an asthma attack is the last thing I need right now! **_Her eyes scanned the many faces before her and they came to rest on a young looking man. _**Oh my! He is just as handsome, if not more so, than the Aidan Turner version of **__**"**__**Kili.**__**" **_His eyes found hers and he smiled at her. She felt positively weak at the knees and then he winked. _**AAHH! He winked at me! What do I do? What do I do? **_She could feel a blush rise on her cheeks. She turned away from his gaze and looked pointedly down to the floor. She could feel butterflies in her stomach. _**Probably just nerves, Em, absolutely nothing to do with that handsome man who just winked at you, oh my goodness! **_Her mind kept rambling on and on. She chanced a glance up and he was still looking at her with an amused grin on his face. She gave a loud "eep" and tried to hide behind Sara.

**Kyra**

After a pregnant pause Gandalf broke the silence. "Pray, what are your names my dears? It would be nice to know just whose home we have been sent to." He gave them a kind smile.

"Sara Walker," Sara said a little breathlessly, _**figures, she's still ogling at fake "Thorin" damn, girl needs to get laid.**_

"Kyra Simmons," _**I feel a headache coming on.**_ She glared at the men, determined to not look weak.

"Em-Emma C-Carter," Em stuttered. Kyra noticed her breathing was becoming irregular and she started to wheeze from her lack of breath.

Sara and Kyra whipped around to look at Emma and we noticed she had gone very pale. _**Oh no**_ they both thought. Emma heaved a big gasp and the entire room went silent. Kyra pushed her way passed the "dwarves", darting into the first room in the hallway. Sara was immediately by Emma's side.

"Emma?" Sara tentatively started, "Emma, honey, you need to try and relax. Take deep breaths. Kyra is getting your inhaler, but you need to calm down before you pass out."

Running as fast as I could get through the "dwarves" just in time to hear a concerned Kili ask if Emma would be all right.

"She will be. Kyra!"

"I found it!" tossing the inhaler to Sara who handed it to Emma, who immediately shook it and started to inhale. _**She still looks pale, maybe she should sit down.**_

"What's the matter?"

"What's wrong with her?"

"Will she be alright?"

The men kept shooting off questions, growing louder and louder.

"Shut up!" Kyra yelled. "You're scaring her! That's why she freaked out!"

She leaned in closer to Sara and Emma, "What do we do now? Is this some kind of dream?"

"Why would we be having the same dream Kyra?" Sara asked with a hint of annoyance. Kyra could see Sara rubbing her temples with her fingertips.

"I don't know. I may be a little tipsy still and I did doze off for a minute during the movie and then the next thing I know it's raining men in our hallway!"

"I read in a book once," Emma had finally calm down and was able to form coherent sentences, "that in dreams, you can't feel any pain. You can check by either pinching yourself or having someone smack you."

We looked at each other and then immediately pinched ourselves. Each of us winced with a slight pain.

"I felt that," Kyra started to hyperventilate, "Now what do we do? How do we know it's not a dream? What the hell are we going to do with all these-" she didn't finish her rambling of questions as Sara had taken it upon herself to slap her across the face with an audible SMACK. _**What the-?! Did she just-?! She did! She slapped me! The bitch!**_

The men immediately dropped their conversations and stared wide-eyed at the three of us.

"Ow! What the hell was that for!?" Kyra cried out in anger.

"You felt that then?" Sara asked.

"Yeah I felt that!"

"Then that means…"

"...this isn't a dream."

_**Well**__**…**__**shit.**_

—-

**So what did you all think? Did you like the changes? Were you disappointed? Please leave me a review/comment and let me know what you think. I****'****m working on ****"****Wonder of Wonders****" ****chapter updates right now and then we will be getting into the brand new chapters and the story will continue on! A big shout out to all who have left me reviews (although I wish I could write back to the guest reviews) and letting me know you are enjoying my story! TTFN! ;)**


	4. Fainting And Confused Royalty

**Third Person POV**

The three women stared at each other. Kyra was starting to see black spots as her vision started to blur. Sara wasn't fairing any better and felt nauseated. Emma had gone even paler in the face and her knees began to buckle.

Bilbo, being the ever observant hobbit that he is known to be, visibly saw each of the three women go pale in the face and their stance sway slightly. He tugged on Gandalf's robe hard and gave a pointed look at the girls. Gandalf looked at the women with shock, then he noticed just who was standing behind the women.

"Thorin, Fili, Kili," he commanded their attention. As soon as he had each of their attention, he simply stated with a slight smirk, "catch."

The three dwarves looked confused by this vague statement. It was only when the three women began to fall did they catch on. Thorin swiftly reached out and caught Sara in his arms. Fili caught Kyra not a moment too soon and Kili quickly caught Emma. They each looked at each other, then down at the women in their arms, and finally glance up at Gandalf.

"Perhaps we should lay them somewhere comfortable until they come back into consciousness," Gandalf said with a slight nod. "Bilbo," the hobbit stepped forward at his name being called. "Bilbo, my good fellow, if you would be so kind as to go inspect the rooms and see which one belongs to which of the girls. I'm sure a bed would be more comfortable than the floor."

Bilbo nodded his consent and rushed in front of the three dwarves to inspect which room belonged to whom. Thorin, Fili, and Kili swiftly lifted the women up-bridal style-and taking care not to jostle the women, followed the hobbit. At the first room Bilbo came out and nodded to Kili, "This is Emma's room." Kili nodded his thanks and proceeded into the room. The next room down the hall, Fili learned, was Kyra's room. Thorin waved off Bilbo's help and tried to figure out with of the last three rooms could be Sara's.

**Kili**

When Kili first entered Emma's room he was in such a state of shock, he merely stood in the middle of the room taking it all in. _**Wow! Absolutely amazing! **_There were paintings and sketchings littering the walls. Beautiful sceneries and portraits lined the walls, paintbrushes, canvases, and other artist devices were sitting atop an ornate desk in front of her window. He noticed an array of portraits along her desk. Some of them had just Emma in them and others had her along with other people, mostly Kyra and Sara. He then noticed the large bed against the far wall and with great care, gently laid Emma down upon the sheets. She gave a contented sigh and a slight smile graced her delicate face. He smiled to himself and took a minute to really looked at her. _**She's so beautiful. **_He remembered her face after he had winked at her, he initially had been attracted to her. _**It's her eyes, they're so enticing. **_Her eyes were of a blue/green color, ones he had never seen before, and he had felt something flair up inside of him. _**Maybe she felt it too, she is a shy little thing. **_He chuckled quietly to himself. As he looked at her now he noticed her delicate facial features. Her small nose, full pink lips, and beautiful golden hair. He noticed a loose strand of hair on Emma's cheek and gently tucked it behind her right ear. Emma gave a small sigh and then shivered. He quickly found a blanket at the end of the bed and pulled it up around Emma. She immediately snuggled into the warmth and Kili then made a move that even surprised him. He leant down and gave a chaste kiss on Emma's cheek and hurriedly made his way out of the door; a slight flush to his cheeks and a big grin.

**Fili**

Upon entering Kyra's room, Fili was in awe of the displays of weaponry upon her shelves. There were small knives and hunting daggers arranged in a beautiful manner. Each of them looked as though they were polished each night with care. A beautiful dark bow and matching arrows were on display. The fletchings were a deep crimson coloring. What really caught Fili's eye were the slim twin swords near the bed. They were not wide blades, but very long. The hilts were black with gold crossings around them. _**She probably just collects them, I highly doubt she knows how to properly use them. **_Next to the weapons display was a portrait of Kyra with an elderly man. The man in the portrait looked like he had seen many battles but still managed a slight smile. However, it was Kyra that truly attracted Fili's gaze. She was wearing a beautiful blue gown that accented her eye color and her light brown hair was cascading down in ringlets. She had a beautiful smile on her delicate face and a light to her eyes. _**Beautiful. So that's what she looks like smiling. I've only seen her glare or scowl. **_A light moan came from Kyra and Fili carefully laid her down upon her bed. He proceeded to cover her form with a blanket and Kyra immediately snuggled deeply into her pillows. A sigh escaped her full pink lips and Fili chuckled to himself. From the moment he saw her, Fili had been somewhat attracted to her. He liked her protective nature towards her friends how she had tried to protect Emma, who seemed younger than herself. It reminded him of his relationship with his brother. _**She looks so peaceful sleeping. **_He leant down and kissed her cheek, _**Mahal, why did I just do that? **_In a confused state he hurried out of the room and went to seek out his brother and Uncle.

**Thorin**

_**Where in Mahal's name in her room!? **_He had just closed a second door in frustration. The first room he opened was a large library of sorts and now he had just opened the one leading to the washroom. _**Perhaps I shouldn't have sent the Hobbit off without having him check those rooms first. **_Thorin could not believe the bad luck that had come his way. Gandalf's revelation that they had been transported to another world worried Thorin to no end. Thorin looked down at the beautiful woman in his arms and thought to himself _**I suppose there are worse places we could have ended up in.**_ She was beautiful and he had felt his breath slip away when he first saw her, but he had to keep his guard up. He heard Sara gave a deep sigh and he tried his luck with the last remaining door. _**Finally! **_Thorin walked to her bed on the far side of the room. He covered her with a warm blanket and turned about the room. He noticed many books piled upon her desk along with several pieces parchment. A large bookshelf against the opposite wall and many, many more books were packed onto it. _**Quite the scholar.**_ Then he noticed a small shelf that held several statues of horses or riders on horses. Upon closer inspection he could make out her name engraved on all of them followed by the number one. Next to these was a portrait of Sara next to a beautiful black mare. _**So, she knows her way around horses does she?**_ Thorin had to admit, he was quite impressed. Sara mumbled incoherently in her sleep and he made his way back over to the bedside. Her brow was furrowed and she gave a slight whimper. Thorin frowned to himself, _**must be a nightmare. She showed no fear in front of my men, I wonder what plagues her dreams. **_From what he had seen of her, she seemed fearless. He remembered when he had looked into her emerald green eyes and had felt a flame ignite within him. He didn't know why he did it, but he leant down and tucked a strand of raven hair behind Sara's left ear and then trailed his fingers across her delicate face. Sara smiled and sighed before rolling onto her other side. He smiled to himself, _**so beautiful. Mahal, what am I doing? I need to focus on my men and getting us back home. **_Thorin backed away out of the room and went to go find the wizard.


	5. Wonder Of Wonders

**Sara**

When Sara first opened her eyes, she immediately shut them from how bright the room was. She groaned _**Damn! I knew I shouldn**__**'**__**t have had wine last night**_; she grabbed the pillow and pulled it over her eyes. _**Pillow? I must have fallen asleep. It must have been a dream! Thank God! I thought I was going crazy, **_she thought to herself._** I gotta go tell Kyra and Emma about it. They will laugh so hard!...Maybe we should lay off the Tolkien stuff for a while. Although, that guy in my dream was so handsome! Oh well, one day, Sara, you will meet a man worth falling for.**_ Sara begrudgingly got out of bed and made her way out to the hall. Asprin would help with her headache and then she could tell the girls about her weird dream. As soon as she stepped out into the hall, she noticed something was off. She could hear male voices coming from the living room area. _**It had been a dream, right?**_ She started to panic. As slow as possible, she tiptoed to the edge of the hallway and peaked around the corner. _**Oh my God! It wasn**__**'**__**t a dream! It really happened! **_There they were; fifteen men sitting around the living room in a deep conversation.

"What do we do now?"

"Why were we brought here?"

"Gandalf, how are we going to get back home?"

Each dwarf was trying to ask more and more questions. She could see the elderly man "Gandalf" starting to lose his patience.

"Silence!" he yelled. "We will wait for the young ladies to awaken and then all questions will be answered. I am sure that they themselves have questions for us"

She quietly, hurried down the hall to Emma's room. She burst through the door and ran to Emma's bedside; leaping onto the bed, she desperately tried to awaken her sleeping friend.

"Emma!" she whisper-shouted.

"Huh? Wha-?" Emma's voice sounded coarse from sleep. "What's the matter? I was having the most odd dream." Emma yawned and let out a slight chuckle. "There were fifteen men that came out of our hall closet and they said they were the company of Thorin Oakenshield," Emma guffawed at how ridiculous that sounded. "And one of them totally hit on me! It was so weird."

"It wasn't a dream Emma," Sara stated. "It really happened and there are fifteen men out in our living room right now."

Emma's face paled and she started to build up to a scream, to which Sara muffled with a pillow.

"Don't scream! They will hear you!"

"Well, what do we do?"

"Well if they are who they claimed to be, then we need to question them."

"But I don't know that much about the Hobbit or Tolkien stuff."

They both sat their pondering, until they both came to the same conclusion..."Kyra!" they whisper-shouted.

"Kyra is a Tolkien die-hard! She will know what questions to ask and how to answer them"

As soon as Sara and Emma had come to that conclusion, they heard a scream.

**Kyra**

The first thing she noticed was that she was laying on something soft. The next thing she noticed was how warm she felt. It was a comforting warmth and she couldn't help the little sigh of content that came out as a result. She finally opened her eyes and tried to blink back the blurriness that was there. _**Oh man, I have the worst headache. I knew I shouldn't have drank most of the wine last night.**_ She couldn't get over how bizarre her dream was and concluded that it may have been due to her alcohol consumption and the movie they had been watching. She laughed to herself, _**I guess we need to hold off on the Hobbit for a while. I have never had that weird of a dream before.**_ She yawned and stretched out her arms and legs; then gingerly she lifted herself off of the bed and shuffled towards the kitchen area. _**Oh, coffee, come to mama! I have got to tell the girls about that weird-ass dream. They will die!**_

She didn't even pause as she made her way over to the coffee maker and started making coffee for herself and her roommates. Humming to the song "Firework" by Katie Perry, she proceeded to look through the fridge for something to eat. She kept quietly singing the song and moving her hips back and forth. _**Hmm...we need to go grocery shopping today,**_ she thought to herself. When the coffee maker beeped at her, she grabbed a mug and started filling up herself a cup of coffee. As she turned around to face the living room, mug raised to her lips, she stared wide-eyed at the men staring back at her.

"Good afternoon," the elderly man greeted her.

She let out a scream and dropped her mug on the kitchen floor.

"Oh my God!" she yelled out. "Holy shit!" she kept up her tirade of curse words, as her roommates came running into the kitchen.

"Kyra," Sara said calmly.

"Oh my God! How? Why? Huh?" she kept yelling out her confusion for all to hear. "Who the hell are they!? I thought it was just a crazy dream!" _**This has got to be a joke! Maybe I fell and bumped my head and now I**__**'**__**m hallucinating!**_

"No, Kyra, it wasn't a dream. They are very real," Emma said quietly, eyeing the men with fear.

"Indeed, we are very real," stated the blond man with smug look on his face. "But if you feel the need you are welcome to inspect me to clear your confusion and-" his sentence was cut off when a man with black hair cuffed him over the back of the head. She glared at the blond, _**oh that damn son of a bitch! Being all smug and sexy and**__**—**__**wait sexy?**__**—**__**No, not sexy! He**__**'**__**s being a smug prick that**__**'**__**s what he is!**_

"My apologies, my ladies," stated the elderly man. "Perhaps you would like to sit down and we can converse about what may have happened and find a solution."

She looked at Sara, then Emma—having a silent conversation with their eyes— and then we each just nodded our heads and sat down close together on the love seat in the living room. The old man took a seat before us and the rest of the men sat around on what furniture or floor room they could find.

"Now," he started, "I believe we got off on the wrong note last night. I know that this may be a shock to you ladies, but it is just as much to us."

Each of the men nodded in agreement. _**I don**__**'**__**t like this. It**__**'**__**s too crazy to be true! **_She looked at her roomies and they had a look on our face of disbelief.

"Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?" _**I want to get to the bottom of this.**_

"Ask away my dear," the "wizard" said with a twinkle in his eye.

"Ok, then, 'Gandalf'," she put in air quotes and looked expectantly at him, "who is the head of the order of the Istari?"

"That would be Saruman the White."

"And who is apart of the White Council?"

Gandalf raised an eyebrow to that question. "Very few know of the existence of the White Council, but it is made up myself, Saruman, Lady Galadriel, and Lord Elrond."

The other girls seemed satisfied with his answers. However, that did nothing to quell Kyra's own doubts

"Your ring of power aids you to wield which element?"

Gandalf gave her a small smile and simply stated, "Fire, my lady."

"Care to demonstrate? If you are truly a wizard then you should be able to show us." she said with a little bit of a triumphant smirk on her face.

Gandalf raised a brow but nodded his consent. He held up his hand and snapped his fingers. A small flame flickered at the end of his fingertip. We each sat there with our mouths open and eyes wide with awe. Then he blew it out. Kyra shook her head.

"Nice trick," she said with a smirk, "but anyone could learn to do that kind of illusion."

Gandalf narrowed his blue eyes at her and stood from where he sat. The dwarves backed away from the wizard and huddled in a group. Gandalf started muttering words in a language none of them had ever heard before. He brought his staff down with a loud THUD and the lights went out and into the crystal in his staff. "Holy shit!" she yelled out. He then stamped his staff down twice and all of the lights flickered back to their respective destinations.

"I do not often deem it necessary to show such displays of my powers just to quell fears, but seeing as how you would not have believed me otherwise it was necessary."

"Oh my God!" she whispered.

"Okay, so you're really Gandalf the Grey?" Sara asked with awe in her voice. He nodded. Kyra turned towards her friends who had matching big grins on their faces and started to squeal; the men covered their ears from the sound.

"I can't believe that Gandalf is in our apartment!" she cried out with enthusiasm.

"This is so awesome!" Sara exclaimed.

"Oh my God! That means that _you_ are Bilbo Baggins!" Kyra rushed towards him and was beaming with excitement. Bilbo stepped back a ways but then nodded and said,

"Yes, yes I am Bilbo Baggins. It is a pleasure to meet you three."

Another round of squeals and laughter ensued. Sara and Emma rushed over and shook hands with their Middle Earth idol. They then looked around the room at the dwarves.

"So you must be Gloin," Kyra stated.

"Aye lass, that I am," Gloin said with a nod.

"And you're Oin, Dori, Nori, Ori, Bifur, Bombur, Bofur, Dwalin, Balin," she continued and pointed at each dwarf. As she said their names some of them bowed and smiled at her knowledge, while others-Dwalin-gave a scowl. Balin gave her a bright smile and bowed, "I'm assuming you know those last three, do you not?" he questioned.

Just as Kyra was about to state that she did indeed know the names of the line of Durin, Fili made his way over to her and took her hand in his before saying, "Fili son of Dis, heir to the throne of Erebor, and I am entirely at your service," with a wink and kiss to her hand. She could feel her face start to flush warm and a spark in her hand from where he had kissed it. It went up her arm, throughout her spine and settled in her chest. _**What the hell? Ok I get he**__**'**__**s being all **__**"**__**chivalrous**__**" **__**but gross. **_She pulled her hand from his grasp, wiping the back of it on her pants, and glared at Fili.

"Do you always make it a point to slobber on people's hands when you first meet them? You may be a 'prince' in your world, but kind of crap isn't really tolerated around here 'little princeling,'" she snarled. _**I will never admit that that was totally sweet, but I know a charade when I see one.**_

Fili just looked at her like she had just insulted his honor or something.

"If you must know," he started, "It is a gentlemanly gesture from our world, one that is usually reciprocated with a smile from a lady…not that you are one by the looks of it." _**Oh no he didn**__**'**__**t!**_

We both stared each other down, well he stared down and she stared up, with a death glare. He huffed and stormed towards the back of the group and she stuck her tongue out at him and crossed her arms a crossed her chest. _**Stubborn bastard.**_

She saw Kili had made his way over to Emma, ignoring his brother's introduction and made to make his own. _**Is he?**_ He grabbed her hand and said, "Kili son of Dis, second heir to the throne of Erebor, and I am at your service fair maiden." _**Of course he did. Don**__**'**__**t fall for it Em! **_Kili then raised Emma's hand to his lips and kissed the back of Emma's hand without breaking their gaze. Kyra saw that Emma giggled and had gone bright red.. _**Why do I allow my friends to become such hopeless romantics? Going to have to keep my eye on them.**_

Then she saw Thorin made his way to Sara—_**Jesus, could she be more obvious?**__**—**_and stood before her. He took up her hand and said, "Thorin, son of Thrain, son of Thror, King Under the Mountain. My men and myself are at your service my lady, " and he placed a gentle kiss to the back of her hand. Sara immediately went bright red and cast her eyes away from the dwarf King. _**Well, he was a bit smoother than the **__**"**__**little princeling**__**" **__**ha! I**__**'**__**m so going to keep that name for him.**_

"Yes, well, um," Sara looked flustered and Kyra could see she was trying to gather her thoughts, "thank you."

"So..." she dragged out, "you are really _The_ Company of Thorin Oakenshield?"

"How do you know about my company?" Thorin asked with a glare.

"We know more than just the name of your company," Sara stated.

"We also know that you are on a quest to reclaim Erebor and to see if Smaug still exists," Kyra continued.

"We also know all of your names and little quirks or talents that you each have," Emma voiced. "But what we don't understand is..."

"Yes?" the old man asked, whilst leaning towards them.

"How can you be real when you are just characters from a book?" Sara inquired. _**Great! Now they**__**'**__**re going to start freaking out!**_

"What do ya mean we're characters from a book?"

"That's ridiculous!"

"How can that be possible!?"

The men continued to get louder and louder, voicing their frustrations and confusions about this possibility. _**Oh man, I definitely have a headache now. I wonder how to convince them**__**…**__**Oh! I know!**_

She jumped up from her seat, bolted to her room, and grabbed every book she had by J.R.R. Tolkien. She placed them before the men on the coffee table and proceeded to tell them that they were made up characters of a book. She then proceeded to tell them about their journey from the first moment in the Shire to just before going to Rivendell—the trolls—that is when the men became very quiet. _**Shit! I probably shouldn**__**'**__**t have laid it all on them like that. Damn! Well done, Kyra! Oh geez, Sara, you idiot! She**__**'**__**s practically drooling over the guy!**_

"Well bless me," Bofur said.

"I never thought anything like this could be a possibility and my knowledge is quite extensive," Balin pondered out loud. "You three mean to speak the truth do you?"

We each nodded our heads and proceeded to tell them just how popular and famous they were in our world. Some of the dwarves looked unconvinced. I was still not completely convinced of the reality of the situation.

"Wait," Emma looked at Gandalf, "How did you get here?"

Gandalf then proceeded to tell the young women how young Kili and Fili happened upon an odd tree with a door on it. After listening to the tale, Kyra whipped her head towards the two younger dwarves and gaped.

"Who's brilliant idea was it to open door, in the fucking forest, and think that nothing bad would happen?!" she yelled. _**Bunch of idiots! Really hot idiots**__**…**__**no, nope! Just plain idiots.**_

Fili coughed into his fist and merely pointed with his head towards Kili. Kyra narrowed her eyes at him and growled slightly.

"Do you have any idea what will happen now if you don't get back to your world!?"

"Uh…"

"Exactly!" _**This could totally ruin the whole story!**_

**Sara**

"Kyra calm down!" she shouted. "There's obviously something about that door and our closet door that makes it unique." She pondered for a moment, _**wait a minute! There are those strange markings on our closet door**__**…**__**maybe that has something to do with it?**_

"Gandalf?"

"Yes, Lady Sara?" Gandalf asked.

"Just Sara. I think you need to see something."

She lead him to the closet door, while the other girls got more acquainted with the company, Thorin followed closely behind.

"There are strange markings on our closet door, perhaps it's the reason behind all of this?" Sara couldn't know for sure, but something told her it was no accident that they were here in their apartment. Once she opened the door, she pin pointed the location of the markings.

Gandalf stared at them for a long while. _**Oh, I really hope he can decipher those! I will feel terrible if they are stuck here**__**…**__**although I wouldn**__**'**__**t mind if Thorin was stuck here**__**…**__**get a hold of yourself Sara. My mother was right**__**—**__**a husband and the sooner the better. **_He muttered under his breath and then, "These are Sandarin ruins. It says, 'Through the door, destiny awaits. Only the Three can change their fates. The light of the new moon will show them way, and the love of Durin can will them to stay,'" _**What in the world does that even mean? **_

"What does it mean, Gandalf?" Thorin asked.

"I will need to study it further. Perhaps you have a library of sorts that would have more to do with Sandarin writings, do you not?" Gandalf was addressing Sara. _**Oh, uh**__**…**__**maybe.**_

"Yes, I'll check out all of the books I can get my hands on and you can use our office, study to decipher the meaning," Sara bit her bottom lip and asked the question she was afraid of, "How will you get back?"

"I will need to recount exactly what happened when we disappeared, but I assure you I will find a way."

Sara nodded her head in acceptance then looked towards Thorin. _**Wow, he**__**'**__**s just so handsome**__**…**__**focus! You have fifteen hungry men in your apartment and no food to feed them with. Now is not the time to be lovesick**__**—**__**be the hostess that your mother would have been proud of.**_

"You are all welcome to stay here until we get this solved," she smiled at him. He gave a nod back and then she said, "I guess you lot are pretty hungry, yeah? I can see what food we—"

"Food!" A loud voice called out. Bombur poked his head around the corner, "Did someone say food?" _**Oh Bombur**__**…**__**of course it would be Bombur.**_

Sara chuckled and nodded, "Yes, I'll need to send the girls to town to get some for you."

As Sara lead Thorin and Bombur back towards the living room area, Gandalf leant down to further inspect the writing. "Wonder of wonders, perhaps this is what Lady Galadriel was trying to refer to me before I left for the Shire," he spoke aloud, unknown to him someone else had heard this confession.

—

**Ok! I think I****'****m done with my previous chapter updates! Yay! Which means****…****new chapters next week! :D I have a hilarious shopping trip coming up, Kili and Fili in a car****…****not a great mix. Dwalin almost stabs Kyra****'****s precious 60****" ****big screen TV and just who listened in on Gandalf****'****s mutterings? Can you guess? Until next week my dears! TTFN! :)**


	6. Not A Scratch

_**Author's Note: **_**Finally! I am back people! Sorry it took so long for the next update, had to get my finals out of the way. :) So here is Chapter 6-I hope you like it. I found this one to be particularly hilarious, then again I'm a little bias I suppose. ;) Enjoy! Oh! AND thank you to everyone who has favorite/followed/read/reviewed my story so far! It really is a confidence booster when people read what you write. **

—

**Emma**

She still could not believe what she was seeing. This was really happening and now they had to deal with fifteen men in their apartment. Very curious men. They kept on picking up everything in sight and inspecting them. _**I hope they don't break anything. **_

"Oh! Ori please put that down. That's an antique!" Emma squeaked at the shy dwarf.

"Yes, I know it's very interesting, but it could easily be broken."

Emma and Kyra were finding it hard to keep the dwarves attention so they didn't break their things. Kyra was just glaring at any who dared to pick up her things or come near her stuff. _**Kyra is going to get so pissed if they break any of her things. She loves her stereo and TV more than anything. Well expect perhaps her car, but still they are very important to her.**_

Emma was racing around putting back things that Nori, in particular had tried to steal. She knew she would have to keep an eye on him. As she turned to go get another item Nori had lifted, she bumped into someone's sturdy chest. She squeaked when she started to fall backwards, but big strong arms encased her small waist and pulled her back towards them. Her hands were up on their chest and she looked up from under her eyelashes to see chocolate brown eyes shining back at her. _**Oh my, oh my, oh my...he is absolutely gorgeous! **_Kili just stared back at her with a wide grin.

"Careful there Lady Emma," he said with a laugh, "I wouldn't want you to get hurt."

"Y-yes, well...um..." she stuttered, red-faced, "t-thank you for...uh...catching me."

Kili just held on to her and smiled. _**Oh my, why did it have to be him of all of the dwarves!? He is still holding on to me. What do I do? **_

She could feel her cheeks heat up from embarrassment, "Y-you can let me go now. I-I won't be falling any time soon," she stated.

"I'll be there to catch you if you do," came Kili's cheeky reply as he winked at her. Emma giggled and stepped back. When all of a sudden a very loud war cry came form the television and Dwalin had lifted his axe to the screen. Emma looked to see it was her recording of "Game of Thrones" and then came a loud shout of anger from Kyra, who had bolted in front of Dwalin to protect her TV. _**Oh no!**_

"Dwalin!" Kyra yelled, "If you make one scratch on my TV I'll kick your ass!"

The Dwarf looked affronted. "I was being attacked!" he said with fury, pointing his axe at the screen. Kyra knocked it away with her hand and glared at him.

"It's not real you dumbass!"

Emma could feel the fury radiating off of Kyra when she screamed that.

"It's just a recording of a battle, it's not actually happening right now!" Kyra looked ready to knock his teeth out.

Emma went over to poor Ori, whom had just sat on the remote and was looking at it with curious interest, and timidly took the remote from his large hands.

"It's all right Ori," she said kindly, "this is called a remote." Emma started to blush because she realized that she had all of the attention. _**Oh no! It's Freshman year speech class all over again! **_"It's...uh...i-it's used f-for..."

Kyra rolled her eyes and stepped in front of Emma, blocking her from everyone's view, well not everyone's. Emma could see that Kili was still looking at her with a smile on his face and she blushed even more red.

"A remote is used to operate this large television," Kyra took over explaining what things were for Emma. _**She's so much better at public speaking than I am. Aw, Ori**__**'**__**s writing it all down. He is so adorable!**_

"A television is used to show recordings of stories, battles, comical things, etc. for people at home." All of the dwarves nodded their head at this. "Like how Ori records what goes on during your journey, we have people who go and record events with a device that allows you to see, rather than read. That is then available to be watched on the television for people to enjoy. Got it?"

The dwarves all nodded, some with frowns on their faces, but they got the gist. Kyra then rounded on Dwalin with a look so intimidating, he balked back slightly with raised eyebrows.

"Not. A. Scratch." Kyra growled and poked his chest with each word. "If I so much as see any kind of weapon pointed at my TV, Dwalin son of Fundin, you will wish you had never been born."

Dwalin glared back at the girl, _**I hope he isn't angry at her. Or try to kill her! **_Then after a glare showdown from both parties, Dwalin grinned and started to laugh. _**Wait, what? Why is he laughing?**_

"Lass," he said through his chuckles, "I have never met anyone, especially a woman, who has stood up to me like that. Except maybe Dis, Thorin's sister." He clapped Kyra on the back, nearly knocking her down in the process, and then went to go find his brother.

"Wow," Emma said in awe as she stood by Kyra, "You just impressed Dwalin and possibly made a friend of him." Kyra and Emma were standing stock still, unable to believe what they just witnessed.

"Yeah," Kyra breathed, "I guess I did."

Both were still standing there in shock, they didn't even notice Bilbo come up to them.

"Excuse me."

Emma shrieked and Kyra yelled out, "Jesus!" Bilbo looked at both girls with a slight pink tint to his cheeks and apologized profusely.

"It's ok Bilbo," Kyra confided in him, "just wasn't expect that. No wonder they had you be the burglar, God." Kyra and Emma laughed a little and Bilbo merely chuckled.

"I'm sorry," he started, "I just wondered, well all of us wondered, if you have anything to eat?"

Kyra looked at Emma. Emma looked right back at her. "No, I don't think we do," they said in unison. Bilbo looked a little crestfallen but perked up when Sara entered the room and said, "Don't worry boys! We will get you some food."

The whole company cheered and Sara made her way towards them. Emma saw that Thorin followed after immediately from the hall and made his way to Dwalin and Balin; however, his eyes were glued to Sara. _**Hmmm**__**…**__**I wonder. **_

"Girls," Sara called for their attention, "I need you two to go out and do some grocery shopping. On the way back pick up some fast food stuff for today and then we can cook tomorrow." Emma and Kyra nodded their heads and made to go to freshen up, when Sara's voice called them back.

"OH! I just remembered," Sara continued, "Kyra, can you stop by the library and pick up all that you can about Elvish, Dwarvish, Tolkien, etc. Gandalf needs it to figure out how to get back. Probably should grab some books on ancient folklore too."

Kyra nodded. "What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to stay here and try to keep them from ruining anything and maybe explain stuff to them so they know how it all works."

"I think that would be a good idea," Emma agreed, "Who knows how long they will be stuck here."

After they pow-wowed, Kyra and Emma left to go freshen up in their rooms. _**Why does it feel like someone is watching me.**_She happened a glance over her shoulder to see that, in fact, Kili was still looking at her. Emma's eyes grew wide. _**Oh my, he**__**'**__**s still looking at me! EEK! He winked again! What do I do?**_ She could feel the blush on her face and hurried into her room, swiftly shutting the door behind her; she leaned against it as she tried to get her heart to stop racing.

_**Why does someone pay attention to me now? No one has ever looked at me like that. I**__**'**__**ll need to talk to Kyra and Sara, they**__**'**__**ll know what to do. **_Confident in her decision, Emma freshened up her face and hair. _**Hm**__**…**__**what should I wear? **_Not wanting to wear anything that would make the dwarves uncomfortable, not like she really had immodest clothing, but she didn't like to show too much. She finally decided to go with her light denim skinny jeans, powder blue blouse, and sandals. Looking at her reflection in the mirror, _**That will impress him. Wait, why do I want to impress Kili? I hardly know him! Oh but he is so dreamy! No Emma! You need to focus on the task at hand. Maybe I**__**'**__**ll talk to Kyra about all of this while we shop.**_

Emma grabbed her purse and stepped back out into the hall. Just as she shut her door, Kyra's door opened. Kyra was wearing a red tank top, grey skinny jeans, and black DC sneakers.

"Ready to go?" Kyra asked. She flung her hoodie over her shoulder as she tied up her shoes. Emma nodded. _**This should be interesting**__**…**__**I wonder how the dwarves will feel with her exposing her shoulders like that.**_

As soon as the girls stepped into the room, all of dwarves eyes got wide and their faces went bright red.

"Lass!" Balin exclaimed, "You're indecent! Perhaps you should go cover up." He, along with most of the dwarves turned their heads, save a few.

With a huff, Kyra hurried to put on her hoodie before sighing, "Ok, you can look now."

The dwarves who had turned their heads, nodded their heads appreciatively. Kyra rolled her eyes.

"Kyra," Emma whispered, "It's a cultural difference. You need to respect it."

"Fine. But they are going to need to get used to it if they are stuck here." Kyra had gotten a mischievous look on her face. _**Uh oh. I know that look and that**__**'**__**s never a good thing.**_

"Gentlemen," Kyra called out, "I apologize for being so inconsiderate. Perhaps sometime today you could tell me all about your culture." The dwarves nodded their heads. "As for now, why don't you watch about our culture."

Kyra walked over to the coffee table, picked up the remote and put on MTV. _**Oh Kyra! That will destroy their look on humanity!**_

"Kyra," Sara said with a hint of warning.

"It will be good for them. Just let them watch for a bit and then you can change it. They need to see that things are different here."

"Fine."

"Good, now where is my wallet?" Kyra was looking through her bag. "Em, have you seen my wallet?"

"No," Emma in truth had not seen it. Something in her peripheral vision caught her eye though. She turned her head to see Kili and Fili quietly laughing at something. She noticed that they were holding a small card like…_**Oh no! Kyra**__**'**__**s driver**__**'**__**s license picture! She hates that picture!**_

"Kyra," Emma tried to get her friend's attention, but Kyra was frantically cursing and didn't seem to hear her. She tried again a little louder, "Kyra."

"Not now, Emma I can't find my wallet. I could have sworn I had it in here."

Emma could hear Fili and Kili's laughter get louder. She tried again to get Kyra's attention, but the boys beat her to it.

"Lady Kyra," Fili laughed, "I had no idea you could scowl like that in a portrait."

"Yes, in fact you could pass for Dwalin's twin," Kili laughed.

Kyra's brow furrowed in confusion and then in anger, and she snapped her head in the direction of the young dwarves. _**Crap! She**__**'**__**s livid! She never lets anyone see that picture, unless it**__**'**__**s for a cop writing her a ticket.**_

"Give. It. Back," Kyra said darkly.

"No, I don't think we will," Fili stated, "In fact, I think in order for us to not show anyone else this you will need to take us with you, right brother?"

"Oh yes Brother, I agree. We could just show everyone now what you look like in this," he squinted his eyes to read the text, "driver's license—did I say that right?"

He looked directly at Emma, she blushed and nodded her head. A look of triumph on his face.

"Absolutely not!" Kyra yelled. "I refuse to take you two with me. Now give me back my wallet!" Kyra had marched over to the boys and made a grab for it, but Fili tossed it to Kili. _**Monkey in the middle, saw that one coming. Poor Kyra.**_

After five minutes of Kyra trying and failing to get what she needed, Emma could see she was getting frustrated. When Fili made to toss the wallet again, Kyra grabbed a hold of his wrist, applying as much pressure as possible, and he immediately dropped the wallet into her waiting hand; she didn't stop there. She kept a hold of his wrist, grabbed the front of his tunic, turned her back to him, and flung him over her back and on to the floor with a loud THUD.

The chattering that was going on during all of this stopped. All of the company, Sara and Emma looked over at Kyra in shock. None so much as Fili, who was still lying on his back, eyes wide, mouth agape, looking up at the small woman.

"Never," Kyra panted out, "ever, touch my things again. Got it?" Fili just glared up at her.

Sensing the tension Emma timidly said, "Uh, Kyra?" Kyra looked over at her, "Are you ready to go now?"

Kyra nodded her head, then just as Fili was about to get up, she pressed her foot to his chest knocking him back down. She leaned down to him and said, "You and your brother can come with us, only because I don't want you here near my things."

And with that she stood up and walked over to Sara. Emma was still standing by the door with wide eyes next to Kili. He whispered, "I have never seen anyone take out my brother like that," he said it with awe and amazement in his voice.

Emma smiled and said, "Just hope that he doesn't piss her off more otherwise he will be even more embarrassed by her." The dwarves started laughing and teasing Fili for being beaten by a woman. Some of them were even exchanging bags of money. Emma shook her head, _**Dwarves.**_ She could see that Fili was embarrassed. His cheeks were slightly pink and he kept glaring, openly at Kyra's back. But she also noticed how his eyes travelled down her form and then back up. _**I knew it!**_

A breathy voice near her ear made her shudder, "You look lovely, by the way." Emma gasped and looked up at Kili, who looked at her with a bright smile. She blushed and looked away, "Th-thank you."

"All right, let's get out of here," Kyra ordered. As soon as Fili had joined them outside of the apartment door, she rounded on them. "If either of you gets a scratch or makes a mess in my baby, I will kill you."

Their eyes got wide, but Fili asked, "You have a baby?" Emma had to bite her lip to keep from laughing at the question. _**Oh my goodness! The poor guy. **_She was shaking from the force it took to keep from bursting out laughing.

Kyra rolled her eyes and said matter-of-factly, "No, I do not have a baby—at least not in the way you think it is."

They followed her down the stairs and out onto the street. Kyra held up her keys and pressed the unlock button to her car. Then she pressed the start button on it and her yellow Chevy Camaro came to life with a roar.

"What is that!?" Kili squeaked. He and Fili had both covered their ears from the sound of the engine. Kyra laughed and opened the door for them to get in.

"This, is my baby. I call him Bumblebee and you two are in for a real ride."

The brothers looked at one another, then grinned. They scrambled to get into the car and sat in the back seats with childlike smiles on their faces. Emma laughed _**Aw, how adorable! **_

"Now what do we do?" they brothers asked in unison.

"Buckle up," Kyra said as she and Emma got into the car.

They simply stared at her. Emma took pity on them, "Here let me show you."

She got out and pulled her seat forward to help Kili first. She leaned towards him and reached for the seat belt. Not noticing how red his face had gotten from her being mere inches from his face.

"This is called a 'seat belt,'" she looked at the brothers as they nodded in understanding. "You take this long part here and pull it across your chest and lap. then you push this metal piece into here," she demonstrated what she was doing on Kili so they could both see, "then after you hear the 'click' sound, it's secure and you are ready to go." She then unbuckled Kili so he could try.

She watched with amusement as they tried a couple of times to get it right, and when they finally had she nodded in approval and set her seat back properly before getting back in the car.

"Ready?" Kyra said. "Here we go boys; library, food, alcohol, home."

Emma turned to see them look at each other eagerly when Kyra said alcohol. Then she noticed Fili get a smirk on his face as he scooted closer behind Kyra's seat. _**This can**__**'**__**t be good.**_

He said, "Are you sure you can operate such a large 'car,' Lady Kyra. Perhaps you should let a me t—" he didn't get to finish his sentence, as Kyra had started pulling out and then slammed on the brakes. His head hit into the back of Kyra's seat and he looked at her in shock.

"Oops," Kyra innocently said with puppy eyes, "brake check, sorry." Emma could see Kyra's smirk _**Oh boy, this is going to be an adventure, in and of itself. Let**__**'**__**s hope Fili makes it out alive.**_

Kyra pulled out on the street, "Here we go!" She revved the engine and the boys held on for dear life as she sped down the street towards the central part of the city.

—

**Ok so what did you all think? Too rushed? Just right? Give me feedback! If I need to make changes I will, I want to make my readers happy. :) Lots of Fili/Kyra tension in this one, but also some cutsie Kili/Emma fluff. Next chapter will deal with Sara back at the apartment. I can just imagine trying to keep curious men from breaking things, cultural shocks! and you get to find out just who listened in on Gandalf****'****s ramblings about the door inscription. Now that school is over, I will have more time to make faster updates for this story! I hope you enjoyed! Please leave a comment/review****—****constructive criticism is appreciated or even just saying you like/hate my story is fine too. TTFN!**


	7. Rules And Culture Shocks

_**Author**__**'**__**s Note: **_Hello all! Thank you to all those who reviewed my last chapter, I'm glad you found it enjoyable. :) I had a bit of hard time with this next chapter...Sara and Thorin are very hard to write for. However, I had a lot of fun tapping into Sara's authoritative/motherly side and her Spanish roots! (There are translations at the bottom of the page to see just what she says to Thorin) When Sara gets angry-very angry-she breaks into her bilingual, Latina attitude. Thorin won't appreciate it, as he can't understand her and Gandalf has a conversation with an eavesdropper ;) Enjoy my readers and I will update again soon! :D

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Sara

_**I can't believe Kyra did that to Fili! I know she was upset but...oh well. The damage is done. Thankfully Thorin was laughing at the whole situation as well. Oh, he is so handsome...wait a minute Sara. You need to focus. You have a home, full of hungry dwarves, who are...wait...what are they watching!**_

Sara gasped and ran over to the TV to change the channel. All of the dwarves were bright red and had turned their faces away. _**Of course, it had to be Miley Cyrus' "Wrecking Ball" music video. I'm going to kill Kyra!**_

"I am so sorry," she explained, "I should have warned you or changed the channel sooner."

She felt awful. The dwarves were beet-red in the face. Many of them had wide eyes and seemed stunned. _**Oh! Poor Ori! He's beside himself with embarrassment. **_It was Balin's calm voice that pulled her from her frantic thoughts and constant apologies.

"That's quite alright, lass," he said. _**He looks way more composed than the rest. **_"However, I think we would all appreciate not seeing anything like that again."

The dwarves all nodded in agreement. _**I hope their look on us hasn't change now! We are so not like that at all!**_

"Don't ya worry your pretty little head lass," Bofur spoke up, a big smile on his face, "Just a bit of a shock to see a lass like that. Very odd. I liked the song with the gentleman dancing before that. He was quite talented, wasn't he lads?"

The others nodded their heads, some asking how he accomplished such a feat. Sara bit her bottom lip, trying not to laugh at their compliments to Usher's dancing skills.

"Well," she started, "be that as it may, I apologize and you will not be subjected to that again. I hope." She said that last part more to herself than to the others. "How about I put on something a little more..." struggling to find an appropriate word. "...more...enlightening?" She picked up the remote and put on BBC's "Sherlock." _**There, that ought to keep them entertained and maybe restore their outlook on our culture.**_

"Lady Sara," Ori's quiet, polite voice startled her slightly, "what is this we are watching now?"

_**Aw, he truly is just too adorable! **_"First of all, it's Sara, just Sara," she corrected, "None of this 'lady' business. Second, this is called 'Sherlock.' It's about a gentleman who goes around and solves crimes that are too hard for others to do. He has an adorable assistant who aides him with his adventures. I think you will all enjoy it." She saw them all nod their heads in acceptance, Ori writing in his journal all that she said. _**Crisis averted. Well done, Sara.**_

She walked back to the kitchen to see if she could find anything edible for the company to eat and took a deep soothing breath. She immediately started to gag. _**Oh my God! What is that smell!**_ She walked back over to the dwarves and covered up her nose-squeaking from the smell.

_**Ugh! They all stink! Oh!...that's right! They just dealt with the trolls before they got here. You would think they would have bathed after that. **_She laughed quietly to herself. _**This is so going to be like the "wash your hands" scene from "Snow White and the Seven Dwarves."**_

"What is so amusing?" came a deep voice from her right.

Sara jumped and put a hand to her heart. "Oh, my God!" she laughed, "Don't do that!" She sent Thorin a half-hearted glare. _**His eyes are so gorgeous! Ugh! What is wrong with me? Sara Jane Walker, get a hold of yourself or you will end up embarrassing yourself. **_Clearing her throat, she started to speak, but covered her nose again.

"I'm sorry," her voice muffled by her hand, "but did any of you bathe after you dealt with the trolls?" She glared at the dwarves. All of them raised their hands. _**Hmm...better try another tactic.**_

"Let me rephrase that. Did any of you use soap when you bathed?" Bilbo, Dori, Ori, Balin, Bifur, Bombur, and Thorin all had their hands raised. "I see. And what of your clothes? Did any of you wash your clothes?" This time only Bilbo, Balin, Dori, and Ori raised their hands.

_**All righty then. Looks like I'm pulling out the big guns here. **_"Very well. All of those who have not bathed or changed into clean clothes need to come here right now," she said in a very no-nonsense manner. "I will need you bathe and leave your dirtied clothes in..." she went over to pick up a laundry basket. "...this basket so that I can wash them. You will then put on clean clothes. If you do not comply, I will not allow you to eat."

All those dwarves who had not bathed or changed into clean clothes grumbled and started towards Sara, but a deep baritone voice made everyone stop in their tracks.

"Last I looked, I was the leader of this company," Thorin said with annoyance in his tone. "We will not be subjected to a _woman_ telling us when to bathe, what to wear, or that we cannot eat." He glared at Sara and she glared back. _**So, he wants to play this game does he. The stubborn, handsome bastard! **_

"And last I looked, you are not in Middle Earth anymore," she said with venom in her voice, "You are in another world, Thorin Oakenshield. You will obey my rules and do as I say. I don't have to let you stay here, I could easily call the authorities and have you locked up if I see fit." She didn't want to challenge his authority, but he needed to know how things are done in the 21st century. _**Take that you smug, amazingly hot dwarf king...damnit Sara!**_

With a smirk, Thorin stood tall and crossed his arms over his chest-_**Oh my God! I would kill to be able to see what his chest looks like or even touch it! Shit! I'm staring. Now I'm blushing, Jesus!**_- "We may have come to your world, _Lady _Sara, but you are still a woman and have no right to try to command my men." _**Oh that smug, son of a bitch! He did not just go there!**_

"I may be a 'woman,' but you, _your majesty, _are out of your element. You are in a world where women are free to make whatever kind of choices they want. They can even dictate what men can do or not do in the work place. They can own a home, have a job, and do as they please. This is _my_ home, Thorin Oakenshield, and you _will_ do as I say." The intensity of her voice and how she glared at him, could be seen by all who were witnessing a woman, who is not Thorin's sister, challenge his authority. _**Ha! That'll teach him. **_Sara smiled up at him with a smug look on her face. He was furious, she could tell by how his eyes narrowed at her.

"You will not dictate to me or my men what we can or cannot do!" he yelled at her. She jumped a little at the sheer magnitude of his voice. "We may be in your home, but you cannot tell me what to do, _woman_."

_**Woman?! Woman?! Oh, that is it! I have had it with this prick, I don't care how ridiculously good looking he is!**_

"_Ya c__á__llete!__" _Sara didn't even realize she was shouting at Thorin in Spanish, she was so angry._ "__Eres tan terco y est__ú__pido__!__ Si no te gusta como se hacen las cosas aqu__í__ lleva tu maldito trasero a otra parte__!__ Oh espera, no puedes__! Est__á__s atrapado aqu__í__. As__í __que ya sup__é__rese, su majestad, y haz lo que yo digo, ya que est__á__s__ en mi hogar! Est__ú__pido!__"_

All of the dwarves just stared at her with wide eyes. She was breathing heavily and had her hands balled into fists, clenching and unclenching. She was mad and she wasn't sure she could control her anger any longer. Sara closed her eyes and took a few deep calming breaths.

"I'm going to go freshen up for the day. When I come back, I expect cooperation. Each of you who have not changed out of your dirty, smelly clothes are expected to have put your dirty clothes in this basket. I also expect each of you to take off your boots and line them up by the door. I never allow dirtied shoes on my floors." She looked around at the company, each of them had their mouths open in shock (Balin and Gandalf had a smile on their face from amusement), and then she glared back up at Thorin, looked him dead in the eye and said, "Do I make myself clear?"

He glared down at her and reluctantly gave her a stiff nod of approval. Then he walked off to his pack, cursing the entire way over there.

"As for those of you who have not bathed at all, follow me." She lead those who had not bathed to the restroom. "This is our 'washroom.' I'm afraid you will have to take it in turns. This is the shower. You gently..._gently_ lift this knob up for the water to come out." She looked at them to make sure they understood and then continued, "These two knobs below control the temperature of the water. You don't want it too hot." The dwarves were in awe of the water coming out of the shower head and nodded in understanding. With a smile Sara turned and pointed to the toilet. "This is a toilet. This is where you can...well...uh..." with a slight blush she said, "relieve yourselves. You just lift this part up, aim into the basin-if you miss you clean it up, and when you are done you push down on this lever here on the side." She demonstrated flushing and the dwarves all covered their ears from how loud it was. She giggled at their reactions. "I expect you to tell the others how to do this as well. You are also to wash your hands thoroughly before the others get back with food. Otherwise," she paused, "no supper." All of the dwarves grumbled to themselves.

_**Oh! The looks on their faces are priceless! I hate being so mean and authoritative, but Thorin really pissed me off!**_

Leaving the stunned dwarves in silence, she headed to her room and began getting ready for the day.

Thorin

_**How dare she?! How dare she challenge me in front of my men! That little brat! That...that...beautiful infuriating woman!...Wait...No. She is not beautiful...well...perhaps a little attractive. She looked very stunning with her emerald eyes burning with passion...No. No, you will not admit to her being attractive at all. **_Thorin kept shaking his head to rid himself of his thoughts. Grumbling to himself he barely heard the chuckling coming from his left.

"I never thought I'd see the day," -_**Balin, not now.**_- "when a woman, not your sister, ordered you around like a young dwarfling."

"I am not a dwarfling. And I cannot believe that she would presume to order me around," he said with distain. His men would think him weak and he didn't like that she thought herself so far above him.

"On the contrary my old friend," Balin chuckled, "I find it quite intriguing that such a petite, young woman could order the 'Great Thorin Oakenshield' to do as told."

Thorin shook his head as he made to change his clothes. He could see the others who had followed Sara returning to fetch their things, save for Bofur.

"Dwalin," his cousin stopped before him with a scowl on his face, but a hint of amusement in his eyes. "Where is Bofur?"

"He is testin' out the 'shower' contraption that Sara showed us," Dwalin said with a bit of chuckle, "said it was his duty to see if it truly worked before anyone else used it." Dwalin shook his head with a laugh. "I like that woman. She is feisty and full a' spirit."

Thorin growled, "I do not find her amusing. I find her impudent and-"

"Attractive?" Dwalin supplied.

"What?"

"Aye, you like her and she likes you. It's very obvious Thorin."

Thorin shook his head in denial, "No, I do not find her attractive. I highly doubt she would find someone like me attractive either."

Dwalin winked at Balin, who tapped the side of his nose, "Oh aye, my old friend. She finds you very attractive."

"Indeed she does, brother. I haven't seen a woman look at him with such ferocity in many years," Balin said with a laugh. "In fact, I haven't seen a woman blush or look at a man in such a way."

"Aye, and if I am mistaken," Dwalin teased, "I have caught you a few times lookin' at her."

The two brothers laughed at the flustered look on their King's face and the blush that had crept up on his cheeks.

"I do not have feelings for her if that is what you are insinuating," he said with annoyance, "I also do not believe that she would think that way of me after the manner in which she spoke to me just now." He grumbled more and finished dressing. _**They're as bad as Fili and Kili. I hope those boys are behaving themselves. Although, **_he thought with a chuckle,_** I'm sure Kyra will keep them under control.**_

Gandalf

_**A most amusing young woman. Perhaps she and the others will see this prophecy through, if they do not kill each other first. **_Gandalf was chuckling to himself, watching everything unfold before his eyes. _**Thorin will need to let her in if she is to save him. I do believe this is what Lady Galadriel was refering to when she made that prediction, many years ago.**_

His thoughts were interrupted by a clearing of the throat. He looked about and then saw it was Bilbo.

"Bilbo, my dear fellow," he said in amusement, "What do you think of this whole entire endeavor we have encountered?"

Bilbo shuffled his feet, "I do find that I am glad we are with these young women. Who knows what would have happened if we would have ended up anywhere else."

"Indeed," Gandalf sighed, "What is on your mind?"

"Oh, well," Bilbo began, "It's just that...I'm not one for eavesdropping, but earlier when Sara was showing us the door, I couldn't help but hear you say something about a prophecy. What did you mean?"

_**He is a better burglar than I would have hoped. **_Gandalf smiled and put a hand on the hobbit's shoulder.

"Can you keep a secret?" he said with seriousness. Bilbo looked up at him with wide eyes.

"Yes, yes of course," Bilbo said, excitement evident in his eyes.

"Good," Gandalf started, "So can I." With a chuckle, he left the poor hobbit standing there with a stunned look on his face. _**One day Bilbo, you will know just what the prophecy foretold, but it is not this day.**_

—

translation of spanish: _Shut up!__ You are so stupid and stubborn! If you don't like how things are done here, then take your ass somewhere else! Oh, wait, you can't! You're stuck here! So get over yourself, your majesty, and do as I say, since you are in my house! Idiot!_

Ok, so what did you all think? Sara's pretty tough, huh? Thorin is flustered and Gandalf is being mysterious. Do you love it? Hate it? Leave a review/comment-let me know what you think. If you have any input or things you would like to see happening in this story tell me! I will so add them to what I have! Thank you to all who have reviewed/favorite/followed/read the story so far! :D Next up: We catch up with Kyra, Emma, Fili, and Kili at the library. What do the girls discover during their time out with the younger Durin boys? Until next time my friends! TTFN!


	8. Library And Awkward Jealousy

_**Author's Note: **_Such a great response to my last chapter! I am so glad that everyone enjoyed Thorin and Sara's little head butting moment, there will be more to come. Thank you to everyone who reviewed and for the correct translation for the Spanish!—I used the internet for it, guess I need to double check next time. Anyway, we are catching up with the troublemakers and how they all interact with each other. Please leave a review/comment/an idea you want me to put in the story, etc. Thank you to all who have read/reviewed/followed/favorite my story! It makes me update sooner when you do! Enjoy!

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Kyra

"So..." Kyra dragged out. She hated silence. Emma just got done telling the boys in the back about her job at the bookstore. _**Boring! **_"...what do you two think of our futuristic world?" She was genuinely curious. She could see the two in her rear-view mirror looking at one another. _**Jesus, they really do have silent conversations with their eyes and faces. Amazing! I should document this when I get home! **_Having a degree in anthropology, she studied all about ancient cultures and human behaviors.

She could see it was Fili who was going to speak. _**Great, royal little princeling is going to bore me to death. Him and his damn blue eyes and amazing hair...no, no, no!**_

"Actually we both find your world quite fascinating," he said. "However, why is there such a lack in forestry? All of these large structures surely must be bothersome."

Kyra looked over at Emma. She was a bit of a tree-hugger and ironically got a degree in architecture. Emma sighed sadly, "Yes, unfortunately our time is quite dependent on these large buildings and don't care for the forests. Trees get cut down all the time to make room for more and more buildings or houses to accommodate for our large populations and places of business."

Kyra could see the sadness in her friend's eyes. _**Truth hurts. I'm glad Emma is interested in architecture to help preserve and build around the trees.**_

"You have a love for things that grow, do you not?" Kili asked.

Emma blushed and nodded her head, "Yes, I have a degree in architecture and am hoping that one day I can aid in designing buildings that will allow us to build around the forests and trees without having to destroy them."

The brothers nodded their heads in understanding and looked impressed.

_**This is a slightly **__**boring**__** topic...oh! The radio! We should have them listen to our kind of music. **_She pressed the power button and listened to the end of a song play over her speakers. The brothers covered their ears and yelled in shock.

"Woman, are you trying to make us go as deaf as Oin?!" Fili shouted.

"The name is Kyra and no, I just thought you two might learn to appreciate our culture better if you hear the music." She grinned at them and they looked at each other with suspicion at first, then grinned at each other as they listened to the song.

"Oh!" Emma squeaked, "I love this song! Turn it up Kyra."

Kyra turned up the music and her and Emma started singing along to Alanis Morissette's "Ironic."

_It's like rain on your wedding day,_

_It's a free ride, when you've already paid._

_It's the good advice, that you just can't take,_

_And who would have thought? It figures._

"You both sing quite well," Kili quipped from the back, looking at Emma in particular. _**Jesus, could he be any more obvious?! And of course Emma is blushing and giggling like an idiot.**_

Emma giggled, "Thank you, Kili," She tucked some of her hair behind her ears. "Kyra and I often sing along to the radio-it's what plays music in the car or from a box at home," she explained when they gave her a strange look.

"So this 'car,'" Kili was looking at Emma expectantly for approval on the word. She nodded. "Has a 'radio' which plays music and you can also listen to it on a device at your home? Are there other forms of music you can listen to or just what we heard?"

Kyra and Emma both laughed a little at that. "No, Kili," Kyra said without looking at him, "You can listen to other forms of music if you choose." He nodded his head in understanding and then nudged his brother with his elbow.

"They sang very well, don't you think brother?"

Fili gave Kili a pointed look and then looked back at Kyra in the rear-view mirror. "Yes, I suppose they did. Strange music though."

"It's only strange, because you don't really understand it," Kyra pointed out. _**Man he is getting on my nerves. Questions my ability to drive, practically insults my favorite song; what's next? Is **__**he**__** going to insult our food?**_

"Here we are," Kyra announced. "I'll just pop into the library real quick and then we can head to the store. Em? Can you keep an eye on them?" Emma nodded her head and Kyra got out of the car. Before she could shut the door she heard from the back seat,

"Do you not need an escort to take you to your destination, Miss Kyra?" Fili asked. She could hear something in his voice, _**is he concerned about me leaving? **_

"No, Fili, I don't need an 'escort' to go to the library," she said harshly. _**Oops, didn't mean to sound rude, he did sound concerned. That's kind of sweet really...no. No, he is a prick, a completely...oh no...puppy dog eyes. No! You will not let him come with you.**_

"I think it would be a good idea Kyra," Emma quietly added, "You're getting a lot of books aren't you?" Kyra could see the mischief in Emma's eyes. _**That little brat...what is she up to?**_

"Um...ok...I guess you can come. But! You have to leave all of your weapons in the car and leave your coat here too. I'll get my dad's old leather jacket from the trunk out."

Fili looked at her and blinked. Then blinked again. _**What?**_ "You want me to leave all of my weapons?" He said slowly.

"Uh...duh! You won't need them."

"We will not be attacked?"

"No...just...ugh! Just do it!"

_**Damnit why is he so annoying?! Why am I letting him come with me? Oh because of Emma. That little instigator! **_Kyra grinned and looked at Emma. _**Hmmm...two can play that little game.**_

"Emma," Kyra innocently said, "Why don't you sit in the back with Kili and answer any questions he has about our world. I'm sure it would be less of a strain on his back if you were just sitting next to him rather than in front of him." She gave Emma her best shit-eating smile. Emma blushed and looked frustrated.

"Oh, yes!" Kili replied with excitement, "That would be wonderful! I have many questions, Lady Emma."

Emma blushed even more red, "It's just Emma," she quipped at him quietly.

Kyra was laughing as she popped the trunk and pulled out her father's old brown leather jacket. _**This should fit Fili. **_She chucked it at him as he got out of the car. He scowled at her and put the jacket on. _**Damn, he looks good in that. He almost looks like a biker with a Harley. So hot...No! Nope! Not even going to go there.**_

"I look ridiculous," he muttered.

"Actually you look pretty good," Kyra said without a second thought. Her eyes widened. _**Did I just say that out loud! Shit! Come on Kyra! Come up with an excuse, an insult...anything!**_

"You know, I mean...uh...it will do, I guess." She could feel her cheeks getting red. "Let's go." And she started for the library, Fili trailing up from behind her.

Emma

_**Why would Kyra do this to me?! I'm so nervous! I don't know what to do. What do I say? Oh my goodness! Okay Emma, just calm down and breathe. In and out.**_

"Are you going to come sit back here or do I need to come sit up there with you," came Kili's flirty reply.

_**Oh my! Okay Emma, you can do this. You're just going to sit by him and talk. Yes, that's it! Oh...he winked! This is such a bad idea. I'm going to kill Kyra for doing this to me!**_

"Um, okay," she said quietly. She opened her door, and slid the sit forward. Kili shifted over to Fili's seat to make room, and Emma sat down and shut the door. She fidgeted with her fingers nervously. _**Oh, my gosh! This was such a bad idea. **_

"Are you alright, Emma?" Kili asked with concern, "Your face is red."

"Y-yes, I-I'm fine," she squeaked. She looked over and saw Kili looking at her with a wide grin.

"Am I making you uncomfortable?" _**Yes, you most certainly are. You and your...handsome face and amazing hair and...oh my.**_

"N-no, y-you are not."

Kili chuckled and turned to face her fully. "I do have a question that I have been wondering about."

"A-and what would that be?"

Kili chuckled nervously, "Well, I wondered...are you courting anyone? Do you have many suitors asking for your hand?" He was scratching the back of his neck nervously and kept averting her eyes.

Emma looked at him in shock. _**Am I courting someone? Why would he want to know that? He looks nervous or he's too warm. Maybe I should turn up the AC.**_

Emma moved toward the front of the car and turned the air conditioning up higher, she didn't think that her bending forward from the back of car would cause a problem.

When she sat back down, Kili was bright red and he was fidgeting with his hands. Emma tentatively reached her hand towards his and set them on top. He stopped and with wide eyes looked over at her.

"Are you ok?" _**Maybe it is too warm in here. He's practically sweating.**_

"Yes, I-I'm quite well, thank you," he said in a breathy voice. Emma smiled at him and pulled her hand away.

"To answer your questions...no."

He looked at her confused. "No, what?"

_**Idiot Emma! Of course he isn't going to understand what you mean when you talk like that.**_

"I meant...no, I'm not courting anyone and I highly doubt anyone would be interested with me," she sighed and hung her head a little. _**The last boy to ever show an interest in me was Adam Jones from high school. Then there's "creepy Tom" who just can't take a hint that I don't like him- **_Her thoughts were interrupted when she felt large calloused fingers on her chin, turning her head and another large hand on her hands.

Kili smiled at her and in a very serious manner declared, "Men in this world must be blind if they cannot see how amazing and beautiful of a woman you are. However, I am relieved to know that you are not courting anyone...yet." He moved his hand from her chin up to her cheek and caressed it with his thumb. The hand on hers held on to her tenderly and he started to pull her closer to him.

_**Oh my goodness, oh my goodness! Is he going to kiss me? I've never kissed anyone before! **_

Emma's eyes got wide and she could feel her breathing speed up. Kili's eyes flickered toward her lips and her breath hitched. He was inching closer and closer to her. Emma couldn't help but close her eyes. _**My first real kiss! I wonder if it will be as amazing as I've ever imagined.**_

She could feel Kili's breath on her lips as he almost grazed her lips and—

"God damnit Fili!"

Both of them gasped and moved as far away from each other as the back seat would allow. Emma hurried to get out from the back to allow Fili in again.

"What did I do?" Fili asked with confusion.

"You know what you did! You are such a, such a—" Kyra was so angry. Emma knew just how angry because she couldn't even come up with a complete sentence.

"Just get in the damn car!" Kyra yelled.

Fili got in and then Emma got in the front seat. Not daring to look back at Kili.

"You okay?" Kyra asked.

"What? Oh yes, I'm fine." Emma didn't know what to do. _**He almost kissed me. At least I think that's what he was trying to do. Oh, why is this so confusing!**_

Kyra revved her engine and tore down the street.

20 min earlier in the Library

Fili

_**I feel ridiculous wearing this coat and I feel vulnerable without my knives. **_He smirked. _**Good thing she didn't notice the few I kept under my tunic.**_

"Would you hurry up!" Kyra yelled. He glared at her.

_**She is so infuriating! Ordering me around, embarrassing me in front of the company and Uncle like that. I'll have to have Kili help me get her back for that. She is quite strong though, and beautiful...wait...**__**what?**__** No, I did not just **__**admit**__** that she is beautiful.**_

He was pulled out of his thoughts when they came up to the library doors. "Mahal," he breathed, "this is a library?" He could not believe what he was seeing. Books everywhere and a high ceiling with windows that let in the sunlight.

Kyra looked over at him and smiled. "It's quite stunning isn't it?"

He looked over at her and could see the awe in her eyes and hear it in her voice. _**Absolutely stunning...**_"Yes, it is."

"Well let's go get the books and get out of here. I'm starving."

He chuckled and followed her in further towards the shelves. He noticed a young woman sitting at a large desk as they entered. She had short blond hair and green eyes. She was pretty, plain, but pretty. She looked at them as they passed and he could sense her eyes roaming over him.

"Hi, there," she quietly greeted with a wink.__He tilted his head in confusion. _**Is that a **__**formal**__** greeting in this world?**_

Kyra mumbled a hello back and glared at the woman. He was then surprised to see Kyra reach her hand back and intertwine their hands together, as she led him towards the rows of books. His breath caught in his throat. His cheeks burned pink and his eyes grew wide. _**Oh Mahal, why is she holding my hand? **_He had felt something spark in him when she touched his hand. _**Why do I feel so strange? I can't stand her and yet her holding my hand feels...right for some reason. Could she be my...No! That's absurd. She couldn't be my One. This is just some kind of...infatuation.**_

He could hear Kyra grumbling to herself. "That little skank. Looking him up and down like she owns him," she growled and led him further away. She finally released his hand and he felt like he could breathe again. "Can't believe how obvious she was," Kyra's quiet tirade of cursing the woman continued.

"Why did you do that?" he questioned.

"What?! Oh!...uh...no reason. I just didn't like how she was looking at you that's all," Kyra stuttered out. Her cheeks were pink and she looked away at the books.

_**Hmm...strange behavior. I did not find that woman's behavior odd. Although, she did seem to take a keen interest in me...maybe it is because of how I am dressed. I knew this coat was a bad idea! But then why did Kyra hold my hand in front of the woman?...**_

"Here," Kyra commanded and shoved several books into his arms. She kept piling more books on to him and he followed her down rows of books.

"Okay, that should help Gandalf out...I hope," she quietly admitted.

He could stand it no longer, he had to know why she grabbed his hand earlier. "Why did you hold my hand in front of that woman earlier?" he loudly demanded.

"Shh!" she covered his mouth and sent an apologetic look towards others in the room.

"You idiot!" she whisper-shouted, "This is a library you have to be quiet."

"Answer my question. Why did you hold my hand earlier?" he also whisper-shouted at her.

He saw her eyes get wide and her cheeks flush. "W-well..." she began, "I just didn't like how she looked at you and...look just go with it okay?"

He narrowed his eyes at her and nodded his head in compliance. He shifted the books from his left to his right when she tried to reach out for them. She glared at him,

"Hey, give me some of the books. I'm not a helpless woman you know," she demanded.

He grinned, "Yes, I am aware of that, but I don't feel the need to let you carry them at the moment."

She glared at him again and started back towards the desk. When they were within a few yards of the woman again, Kyra whipped around and held up a hand to him to stop. He rolled his eyes. _**Now what does she want?**_

"Just listen," she whispered. "If it comes down to it we might need to...well...that is...we might need to show 'affection' in front of that girl over there," she had put up her fingers in a strange way when she said "affection."

"Why would we need to show affection in front of her? We are not courting nor are we married." _**That just seems absurd, although...I wouldn't object to...No! **_Kyra sighed and narrowed her eyes at him.

"She was checking you out earlier and we need to be a convincing couple so she will leave you alone, got it?"

"But openly show affection?" he was uncomfortable with that idea.

"Public displays of affection make people very uncomfortable," she stated.

"Yes, they do," he growled. _**Mahal, why is she being so strange. Of course it makes people uncomfortable...Oh! She means for that woman to think we are...**_

He simply stared at Kyra. She shook her head, "Don't worry, if anything we just need to be clingy and we won't have to do anything more than hold hands or touch each other a little. If she doesn't believe it then we can...well...you know...," she coughed and it sounded like she said "kiss."

_**What?! **_His eyes widened more, if that was even possible, and he started to shake his head at her. "There is no way we are kissing."

"Look, I don't like that idea anymore than you do, but we need to have people leave you and the company alone. They won't do that if they think you are available. Then they will start asking questions. Do it for the company, for your uncle...your brother. Okay?" she pleaded.

_**I guess that makes sense. We certainly don't want to attract more attention to us than needs to be. **_He nodded his head and reached for her hand, intertwining them together. That spark was there again and he still didn't understand it. They walked up to the desk with the blond woman and set down the pile of books. She smiled at them, friendly like.

"Did you find everything you needed?" she looked at him when she said that. _**Huh, maybe Kyra is right.**_

Kyra leaned into him and wrapped her other arm around his arm and placed her head on his shoulder. "Yes, we did. Thank you," came her short reply.

The woman looked them both over and then proceeded to open each book and put it up to a strange device that made a quiet sound. Her eyes flicked up towards him and she winked. His eyes grew wide and he could hear Kyra growling next to him.

"You know," the woman started, "I get off in an hour, if you want to go have a little fun."

"Uh..." he was stunned to silence.

"He's taken," Kyra growled.

The young woman smirked and looked them both in the eye and said, "Prove it."

Kyra growled again, turned towards Fili, placed her hands behind his neck and pulled him towards her; crashing their lips together. Fili was stunned. _**Her lips...they are so…**__**perfect**__**. **_He closed his eyes. Then, unconsciously, wrapped his arms around Kyra's back and pulled her closer to him and he responded back to her kiss. He heard her sigh and deepened the kiss more. _**Oh, Mahal...**_He had never felt this way before. He loved the feel of her lips on his, her body pulled flushed up against him, and he swore on the creator that he was seeing stars.

Kyra shifted slightly and tried to pull back. _**Oh no you don't. **_He pulled her back towards him and immediately deepened the kiss. She squeaked in surprise, but responded back again. _**I like this feeling...I don't know what it is, but this feels so right.**_

He let his instincts take over and he lightly ran his tongue over her bottom lip. She gave a slight moan and then he nipped at her lip and she gasped. He plunged his tongue into her mouth. She responded in kind and their tongues battled for dominance. He was losing himself in the kiss and his hand roamed down toward her behind and he grasped it.

He was brought out of his passionate state when he heard someone loudly clear their throat. He opened his eyes and looked into Kyra's deep blue eyes. _**By Mahal, she is perfect. Her swollen lips and flushed cheeks look amazing on her. Wait...no, this is Kyra, Fili. You do not love Kyra. Love?...Where did that thought come from?**_

Kyra stepped back out of his arms as she bit her lip. Her face was bright red. _**Is she smiling? **_Kyra went over to the desk and picked up the pile of books from the blond woman; who looked slightly put out when she looked at him. He smirked and followed the flustered Kyra out of the doors.

As soon as they were outside she rounded on him. "What the hell was that?!"

"What do you mean? I simply followed your lead."

"Yeah, but...I didn't mean for you to...that was way too much."

Her face was bright red and she kept averting his eyes. _**Did I embarrass her?**_

She growled, "There's playing along and then there's...you grabbed my ass!" she screamed at him. Then she glared at him and walked back towards the car.

_**What did I do? I did what she asked. True I did get a little carried away...**_

"God damnit, Fili!" she yelled as she shoved the books into the back of the car.

"What did I do?"

"You know what you did! You're such a, such a...Just get in the damn car!"

He did as told and he noticed that Emma and Kili both were blushing. _**What happened while we were gone? **_Kyra asked Emma a question and he sat in the back of the car still lost in thought, as Kyra drove off again.

Kyra

_**What the hell happened in there? I know I told him to play along, but he didn't have to push it that far. **_She sighed in frustration._** God, his lips are amazing and his tongue!...No! No, Kyra you didn't feel anything from that kiss. Nope! Absolutely nothing. It was just a stupid kiss...right?**_

She was so confused. She felt something in her when she had grabbed his hand and then when they kissed, she literally saw fireworks. She shook her head, _**No, it was nothing. You can kiss someone and not feel anything**__**,**__** Kyra. But then again...No! God I need alcohol!**_

She pulled the car into the parking lot and parked. "Okay, how about we split up and meet back here in an hour?"

Emma nodded her head. She noticed that the boys were silent, she sighed, "Kili?" He looked up at her. "You come with me and we will go get alcohol and groceries for the week. And Emma you take Fili with you and go get the fast food for today."

They all filed out of the car. She couldn't even look at Fili she was so...embarrassed? No, angry. _**That damn dwarf and his perfect lips and hair...gah! Shit! No, don't think like that! You got hurt the last time you fell for someone. Granted it never compared to how kissing Fili was. Nope! Stop thinking about it. Food and alcohol, Kyra, food and alcohol.**_

"Come on Kili, let's go." She heard him follow behind her and then felt him walking next to her.

"Where are we going first?" he asked. He sounded excited and he was looking around at everything. _**He is just too adorable. Like a little puppy.**_

Kyra laughed at his enthusiasm. "Well, let's go get the liquor first and then bring it back to the car. Then we can go to that store over there," she pointed up the street, "and we can pick out some food for the next week. You know what everyone in the company likes to eat and how much we should get." He nodded his head distractedly as he looked towards all the tall buildings. _**I have a feeling he's going to be hard to keep track of. Oh! Thank God! The liquor store...Finally!**_

Emma

"So, what did you think of the library?" she asked as her and Fili walked down the street. She noticed that Kyra and Fili both had been silent when they got back, except when Kyra yelled at him about something he did. She saw him stiffen slightly, and he cleared his throat a little.

"It was," he looked around distractedly, "it was amazing." He finally said with a smile on his face. _**Hmm...**_

"Did anything happen while you were in there?"

"What? No. We just got the books and came back out," he said in a rush.

"Uh huh, why did you two take so long?"

"W-we uh...well that is to say," he stuttered. _**Ha! I knew it! Something big happened and they are both too embarrassed to say what it was! **_He glared at her.

"Nothing happened and let's just leave it at that."

"If you say so," she shrugged. _**I'll get Kyra drunk and she'll spill the beans. It always works when Sara and I need information from her she doesn't want to tell us. Kyra is an honest drunk.**_

"Here we are!" she exclaimed. They were stopped at a Subway.

"What do they have here?"

"Food," she giggled. "Don't worry, this isn't the only place we are stopping at."

He nodded in understanding. _**Well here we go. Oh my, we are going to need tons of food! God help us. I just hope Sara is doing fine with all of them back at home.**_

—

So what did you all think? Kyra and Fili's first kiss that neither of them wanted in the first place. Kili and Emma's almost first kiss...don't worry they get another chance later on in the story. Leave a review and let me know what you think! :D Next up: confrontations and an awkward laundry room scene! TTFN!


	9. Laundry Room

_**Author's Note:**___Sorry for upsetting some of your fangirling over Emma and Kili's moment being interrupted. Sadly enough, I tortured myself as well during that moment. No worries though they will get their chance. ;) But I am so happy with your responses! There will be a lot going on with the Durin boys and the girls relationship developments over the next few chapters and as the story progresses. Backgrounds will come to light and confessions will be made...It will be epic! Anyway, I present to you Chapter 8! This has several humorous moments, along with an awkward moment that will be...legen...wait for it...dary! Please leave a review/comment and let me know what you think! Give me an idea that you are dying to see happen with our trios or even with any member of the company! Thank you to all who have the reviewed/read/favorite/followed my story, you guys are awesome! Enjoy!

—

Sara

_**I feel so much better now that I've showered. Those guys better have done what I said. It's gross that they would stay in disgusting dirty clothes, especially since they dealt with freaking trolls!**_

Sara had just gotten out of the shower and was looking through her clothes. She was standing in front of her closet, wrapped in a towel and her hair was braided in a plain french braid down her back. _**Hmm...what should I wear? Oh! I know! **_She picked out a green tunic blouse, black leggings, and a gold belt. _**Perfect! I wonder if Thorin will like it...wait. No. No, he was being a jackass. I mean, I know he's the "leader" but damn he has issues with others giving orders in his stead.**_

She had set her clothes out on her bed when her phone went off. _**Oh! It's Kyra. I wonder how their outing is going with the boys. **_She giggled as she answered the phone.

"Sup slut?" she laughed.

_"Shut up skank!" _Kyra laughed.

"What's up? How long will you guys be?"

_"We picked up the books and Kili and I got the alcohol. He and I are at the store...No Kili,you can't get that!...I know it looks amazing, but please put it back...I sent Emma and Fili to go pick up some fast food. We should be back __home__ in about..."_ Sara could hear Kyra and Kili arguing over vegetables.

She laughed, "Kyra!"

_"Oh! Sorry. I swear to God he's like a fucking child!"_

"Makes you wanna have kids doesn't it?"

_"Hell no!" _Kyra dragged out._ "Anyway...Kili!...God damnit! I said no! Go put that back!...We will be there in half an hour."_

"Awesome."

_"Do you think Thorin would be upset if I pushed Kili in front of a car?"_

Sara laughed even louder, "I don't think he would appreciate it. Just try to get all of you back in one piece in that animal of a car of yours."

_"Hey! My car is better than __that__ banged up piece of shit you drive around!"_

"Yeah, but how many tickets do you have on your record?"

She could hear Kyra growling into the phone. _"Oh! Shut up!"_

"I love you too," she said sweetly.

_"Yeah, yeah, right back at cha babe...Kili I said no!...God, damnit!...Listen Sara, I gotta go!"_

"Okay, I'll let them know you'll be back soon."

_"K, see ya!"_

"Bye!" Sara smiled and laughed as she set her phone down._** I'm glad they are almost done, I'm so hungry! Probably as hungry as Bombur!**_

Sara took her towel off and started getting dressed. She got her leggings on and slipped on her bra. She was just about to put her shirt on when she heard a knock on the door.

"Just a moment please!"

She hurried to get her tunic blouse on and pulled it over her head, straightening it out. She grabbed her belt and phone from off the bed and went to answer the door. _**Oh!**_

"Lady-I mean, Sara," Thorin was standing in front of her with a stoic look on his face, "everyone has finished dressing and I thought you would appreciate it if I brought this to you."

She looked down to see he was holding the basket of dirty laundry out to her. She smiled and finished putting her belt on and placing her phone in her pocket.

"Thank you," she politely nodded. _**I wonder if he is still pissed about me ordering him around.**_

"I can take that from you. I'll have those washed and dried by tomorrow morning," she went to take the basket from him, but he moved it away from her reach. She looked up at him with a raised eyebrow.

"I can carry it," came his short reply. _**He sounds angry. **_"I need to speak to you privately."

_**Ah, so he is pissed and now he wants to "talk." **_Sara sighed, "Fine. Let me grab my shoes and we can go down to the laundry room to 'talk.'" She went back to her closet, slipped on her gold sandals, and grabbed her coin bag.

"Follow me," she told Thorin as she walked out her room and down the hall.

"Where are we going?" he inquired.

"Down to the laundry room. We all share a room to wash our clothes and it will give us some privacy, as you requested." She was being snooty to him and she knew it. _**I'm not trying to be a brat. I should be nicer, well, at least more polite and not as snotty.**_

She looked in the living room to see the dwarves and Bilbo watching "Sherlock" still. _**I'm glad they are enjoying it. **_"Guys?" They kept staring at the screen. "Guys!" They still ignored her. She glared at them and then put her thumb and middle finger to her mouth to make a shrill loud whistle sound. They all jumped and covered their ears.

_**Ha! That worked. **_They finally looked over at her and she laughed at them. "If you guys are all right for now, Thorin and I are going to go down to the laundry room and clean the clothes." They all nodded in understanding but gave Thorin a curious glance. "Also, Kyra, Emma and the boys will be back with food soon." She giggled when they all cheered.

"Oh! Gandalf!"

"Yes, Miss Walker," he smirked.

"I have something I want you to see."

He nodded and got up to follow her. She turned to Thorin, "I'll just be a moment." He nodded and she led Gandalf to the office.

She shut the door and pulled out her copy of _The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey._ "I told you that you were all characters from a book."

He nodded his head for her to continue. "Well, they made a movie or a moving picture of your journey and I think that you need to see what you have already encountered and what lies ahead."

"That sounds most intriguing. I would very much like to see," his deep voice resonated in the room. She smiled at him and popped the disk in the computer. She waited a few minutes for the movie to play and see his reaction. _**He looks so sad about the attack on Erebor. Oh! There's young Bilbo. I wonder what Gandalf will think about his movie counterpart.**_

She heard Gandalf chuckle as he looked at himself on the screen. "This is most amusing, Miss Walker," he laughed.

"I'll check on you later to talk about the rest of the book and what you see on the screen."

She left him in the office and shut the door. She looked around the room and saw Balin and Dwalin laughing and a flustered Thorin. _**Huh...I wonder what happened out here.**_

"You guys are in no way allowed to interrupt Gandalf or go in this room without my say so." The dwarves looked up at her and nodded. She smiled, went to a drawer to pull out the detergent, and beckoned Thorin to follow her.

_**I am not looking forward to this conversation. **_Was her constant thought as they walked down the stairwell to the laundry room.

Thorin

"I'll just be a moment," Sara said. He nodded his acceptance and she led Gandalf into another room and shut the door.

"So lad," Balin broke the silence, "you're going to go help the lass, are you?"

Dwalin, who was sitting next to Balin, started to chuckle. _**They will never let this go. They teased me relentlessly when they found out about Dis ordering me to change Fili and Kili's dirtied diapers. I wonder how many decades they will tease me for this?**_

Thorin sighed, "Yes, I am. I also need to talk to her about a private matter, seeing as how she is the eldest of the three women and the only one here."

The two cousins simply laughed and shook their heads. Dwalin spoke up, "If that is the case, my old friend, then by all means go wash dirty clothes with the pretty lass."

_**So it begins...**_

He heard a door open behind him and Sara stepped out and looked at him.

"You guys are in no way allowed to interrupt Gandalf or go in this room without my say so," she commanded. _**She sounds like a mother talking to her children. Actually she sounds a lot more like Dis-I'm sure those two would get along very well.**_

He watched as she pulled out a bottle of some sort. She tilted her head toward the door and he knew to follow her. He could hear the bursts of laughter behind him as they left the apartment.

_**How far down is this "laundry room" from their "apartment?" Why must this world have such tall buildings? **_He kept following her down the stairs and he couldn't help but really observe her. _**She looks lovely in that color. It matches her eyes...By Aule, why must I lose focus around her? She's like a temptress. **_He watched as her hips swayed slightly from side to side. He tilted his head a little as they entered the room, _**A very beautiful temptress. **_He shook his head and cleared his throat.

"Where shall I set this?" he gestured with the basket.

"Oh, just on this counter top here. I'll just wash them here and then take them up to our roof. Kind of handy to live on the top floor, you get access to the best part of the building," she giggled.

He gave her a small smile and turned to pace about the room. His hands behind his back he stopped to look at the contraption she was placing the clothing in. _**Do they not use a tub and washboard?**_

"This is called a 'washer' and it washes the clothes."

He nodded and inclined his head for her to continue explaining.

"After the clothes are placed in it," she took out the small bottle and filled a cup with it, "then the soap or 'detergent' is poured onto it and then the door is shut."

He saw her pull out a money bag and place coins in the "washer," then she turned some dial and the machine started to make a loud noise.

_**How odd. I'm sure it is more convenient for this world's purposes.**_

"So, you wanted to talk?" she asked and she hopped up on one of the other "washers" next to the one she was currently using.

"Yes," he paused, _**I must not insult her but I need to be firm. **_"I realize there are differences in our cultures." He heard her scoff. He looked over at her and she had rolled her eyes.

"Big differences," she stated.

He sighed and brought a hand up to the bridge of his nose. _**This may be more difficult than I thought.**_

"Be that as it may, you need to understand that-while I appreciate you and your friends allowing us to stay in your home..." she gave him a skeptical look, "I am still King of my men and cannot have a woman question my authority in front of the others."

She glared at him, "And you need to understand that, while we are aware of you being a King," she smirked, "you are stuck in _our _home, _our _world until Gandalf can figure out how to get you back."

Thorin was pacing as she spoke, _**I understand all of that. Surely she doesn't expect me to ignore my own culture and upbringing to accommodate their strange ways.**_

"I understand, but you cannot—" he began.

"No, you don't understand." She hopped off of the "washer" and started towards him. Her emerald eyes were burning with fire and she had a regal aura about her. _**By **__**Aule**__**...she is radiant when she is upset. **_She stopped in front of him, mere inches from his face.

"I _can_ tell you what to do. You are in my home and whether you are in this world or if we were in your own world, you need to respect that and bide by my rules. I will try not to questions your 'authority' in front of the others. But you're behaving like a fucking child and I will treat you as such; I don't care if you are a King or not." she reprimanded. She had poked his chest a few times during her tirade. He caught her hand in his and glared at her. She glared back up at him.

_**Why must she be so infuriating?! **_"I am not behaving like a child. I am being respectful and I am trying to be a gentleman, but you are making things more complicated than they need be," he growled.

"Well," she tugged on her hand with a grunt, but he didn't let go, "_one _of us is going to need to back down on their authority or _you_ will need to make some kind of compromise." She went up on her tip toes to look him in the eyes. _**This woman is going to be the death of me. But I will not back down!**_

"I am King!" he yelled.

"Then act like one!" she yelled back, with the same ferocity.

They were so close their noses were almost touching. _**I've had it with her and her loud mouth! **_

"In Durin's name, woman, be silent and listen!"

"I will not be silent! I refuse to listen to you, you stuck up, rude, son of bi—"

He pulled her towards him hard and crashed his lips to hers. She gasped and her eyes went wide. She pushed against his chest, but he would not let up. _**This will surely make her be silent, if only for a moment...**_Sara still tried to push against him and then he could feel her starting to calm and her eyes flutter closed.

She stopped struggling after her failed attempts of getting free and he could feel her responding to his kiss. _**Mahal...is she?...**_She reached her hands up and rested one on his chest; the other snaking around to the nape of his neck. He could feel her succumb to him and he did not know what to do or how to react. _**Her lips are so soft and warm. This feels so...right. As if it was destined to be...**_He closed his eyes. Then he placed one hand on her hip and lifted his other hand up to her cheek. He heard her sigh and he deepened the kiss. As their lips moved in sync, Thorin could feel his control slipping. _**By**__** Aule, I've never felt this way before...This is far too intense, but I can't stop...**_

In one swift move, Thorin—without breaking their kiss—wrapped his arm around her waist and lifted Sara up on the washer she sat on earlier. He ran his tongue along her bottom lip and she moaned. It was driving him crazy. He bit softly on her lip and she gasped. He delved his tongue into her mouth and felt her tongue brush back against his. Their mouths and tongues were battling for dominance over the other. Her hands tangled into his hair and he tightened his hold on her; pulling her flush against him. Her legs wrapped around his waist and crossed at her ankles, pulling him closer still. He was caught up in the passion and fire they were sharing as they continued kissing.

A loud cough came from behind them. They jumped, startled by the sudden sound and broke the kiss. Each heavily panting and turned their heads to see who it was standing by the door.

Sara

She was breathless and turned her head to see who was in the room. She groaned, _**Mrs. Johnson...impeccable timing.**_

"Oh...h-hello Mrs. Johnson," Sara stuttered out in between panting breaths. They broke apart quickly and she jumped down from off of the washer. "How-how are you doing today?"

Her neighbor gave her a wink and Sara's blush deepened. _**Oh**__** great, of course it would be the building's gossiper who catches me making out with Thorin Oakenshield, or at least to her, a really attractive man in the laundry room. Great...just perfect!**_

"I'm doing well, Sara," Mrs. Johnson smiled knowingly, "Not as great as you are doing I see. I think I'll come back later to do my laundry. Do be careful dearie." Mrs. Johnson tapped the side of her nose and winked again at her.

Sara went to stop her from leaving, but her little old neighbor already left. She face-palmed and groaned. "Dear God, just shoot me now."

_**What the hell happened anyway? One minute we are arguing and the next minute he pounces. Damn I can still feel his full lips on mine. **_She growled in frustration.

She jumped when the washer beeped. "The...uh..." she looked over at Thorin who was equally just as red and was pointedly looking away, "the clothes are-are done. W-we can go back now." He nodded and held the basket up to her to fill, not looking her in the eye. _**God, could this get anymore awkward?!**_

She hurried to put the wet clothes in the basket, set the detergent on top, and then all but ripped the basket from his hands and rushed out the door. She ran up the stairs, she could hear his boots clomping behind her. She rushed to open her door and fumbled with her keys. _**God damnit, you piece of shit key, just go in already! **_She mentally face-palmed, _**I can hear Kyra's, "That's what she said," comment. **_

She finally got the key into the keyhole and hurried into the apartment.

"Are you all right lassie," she vaguely recognized Balin's voice.

"Yep, I'm great! I'm going to go hang up your clothes now. Bye!" she ran over to the open window, set the basket of clothes down, and climbed out; she headed for the roof. _**Oh my God! Oh my God! I just kissed Thorin Oakenshield! What do I do now? God, I'm so confused!**_

She set down the basket, pulled out her phone, and text Kyra: Hurry home! I need liquor STAT! :(

She was in such turmoil with herself, she couldn't hear the commotion coming from down on the street.

—

So what did you think? Pretty crazy stuff, right? The story will move faster once Gandalf figures out how to get back and he reveals just what Galadriel predicted to the girls. I hope you are enjoying the story thus far! Next up: the troublemakers come back, someone gets in a fist fight, and a hilarious drunken confession. TTFN!


	10. Emotional Roller Coaster

_**Author's Note: **_Wow! Great responses to my last chapter! I know it was quite shocking but I feel it needed a little pizazz. ;) Here is Chapter 9: loaded with humor, fist fights, honest drunks, and some fluff! Thank you to all who have reviewed/commented on my story, it fuels my creativity! :D And a huge thank you to everyone who has read/favorite/followed my story! Enjoy!

—

Kyra

_**Finally! I thought we would never get back home! Jesus...I thought I needed a drink earlier, that's nothing compared to how badly I need one now. God, after an hour of shopping with Kili, that damn son of a bitch is lucky I even let him back in the damn car!**_

Kyra was frustrated, tired, and hungry. She could tell the others were too. She felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. _**Must be Sara...**_She looked at the screen: Hurry home! I need liquor STAT! :( _**Huh...I guess she is having as rough a time as we did.**_

"Okay, Em," she waited for Emma to join her near the trunk of the car, "have the boys carry up the heavy liquor cases. You can take some of the fast food up and I'll grab the books." Emma nodded her head and grabbed an armful of fast food bags and boxes. _**This**__**m**__**ight take two trips. **_

"You and I can come back down to get the grocery bags Emma..." she saw Fili look over his shoulder heading up the steps. He looked like he was about to say something, "And no, we won't need any help getting a couple of bags up to the apartment. So don't even ask." He glared at her and scoffed. _**Arrogant bastard. **_

She saw him say something to his brother that she couldn't understand. _**Must be Khudzul. **_They both laughed and followed Emma up the stairwell. Kyra followed last and carried the pile of books in her arms. _**These better help Gandalf figure out how to get them back. Not that I don't mind them being here, but I don't think I can last any longer with that golden haired, blue eyed...handsome prince. Jesus! No, Kyra! No, no, no! Just pretend like you never kissed him and move on!**_

Emma opened the door to the apartment and they were met with cheers from the dwarves.

"Well, it's 'bout time you lot got back!" Bofur laughed. "We thought you had gotten lost 'r somethin'"

The dwarves laughed at that. They all scrambled over to the table and counter to get some of the food. Bombur was the first to make it, his mouth watering in anticipation for new food. _**Oh Bombur, you're fast when food is involved or you're in imminent danger. **_Kyra shook her head and chuckled to herself. _**Better get these books to Gandalf. Huh, where is that wizard? How does one lose a tall ass wizard with a pointy hat? And where is Sara? **_She scanned the room for her friend, but couldn't find her.

"Hey, Bilbo?" she saw the hobbit jump a little at being addressed, "Have you seen Gandalf or Sara anywhere?" He smiled and nodded his head.

"Gandalf is in the study and Sara went out of that window over there."

"The window?" _**Why the hell is she out there?...I'll go check on her after I get the groceries up here. **_She__nodded her head and thanked Bilbo. Then she made her way to the study and knocked on the door. She heard Gandalf grant her entrance and went in, closing the door behind her.

_"Indeed, he made no mention of you." __**That sounds like **__**Thorin's**__** voice...Oh, I guess Sara decided to let him watch the movie...I wonder if it would be a good idea for us to show him the second movie too...**_

"May I be of assistance, Miss Simmons?" Gandalf's question brought her out of her thoughts.

"Oh! Yes, here are the books that might be of help for you. I also got some on phases of the moon and old folklore that talks about time travel and what not—" she knew she was rambling, but in truth she didn't know what would be of help to him at this point.

Gandalf chuckled and put__a hand up to silence her. "That is quite alright, Miss Simmons. I have no doubt that these will be of help."

"Have you had a chance to go over what happened to bring you all here?"

"Indeed I have. However, I need to look through some of these to see if my theory is correct."

Kyra nodded her head, _**I guess that makes sense.**_

"I assume that if we had not been brought here then we would have ended up in Rivendell as this 'movie' shows?" Gandalf sounded like he was highly amused.

Kyra laughed, "Yes, I believe you would have. I'll leave you to finish the movie and then the girls and I can come talk to you about it and the book in the morning. There's a couch and blanket with a pillow in the corner that will fit your length, if you would like a private place to sleep tonight." He nodded and thanked her, then turned towards the computer and kept watching the movie, shaking his head with a grin on his face.

_**Well, better go get the groceries, then I'm making myself a nice tall drink. Sometimes I'm glad that I'm a bartender. A**__**nd perhaps a bubble bath. That sounds amazing right now.**_

She walked out of the office and saw that the dwarves were in front of the TV, scarfing down their food, _**Jesus! Are they even chewing it?**_

She shook her head and looked over at Bilbo and Emma, who both had matching faces of disgust on their faces. _**At least I'm not the only one who finds their eating manners atrocious. **_"Em," after a pause, Emma finally pulled her eyes away from the scene of the dwarves, "let's go get the groceries and then we can try to salvage something for Gandalf and ourselves to eat." Emma nodded her head distractedly and made for the door.

Bilbo made his way back over to the dwarves, with a look of distain on his face. _**Poor little guy, it must be bringing back memories of how they were at his place.**_

Kyra followed Emma out and down the stairs. When they got outside to the car, Emma spoke up.

"So," Emma dragged out, "just what happened in the library?"

Kyra's eyes got wide and she willed her cheeks to not blush, thankfully her hair covered her face, "Nothing." _**Jesus, she would ask me that.**_

"Oh, come on! You both came back yelling at each other about something that happened and then you both were dead silent all the way back home. Don't lie to me Kyra, I can tell when you are." _**God, she sounds like Sara. Always butting in to my business and blah, blah, blah...**_

Kyra grumbled to herself, "Nothing happened, Emma. So just leave it alone...if anything I should be asking what happened while we were in the library," she teased.

Emma blushed and her eyes got wide. _**Ha! Pot meet Kettle.**_

"Oh, uh...n-nothing. We were just talking is all," Emma looked away and hurried to grab a few bags.

"Uh huh, sure you were. I'll let it go, if you do."

Emma nodded her head and hurried back inside. Kyra chuckled to herself and reached in for the last of the bags, beeped her car locked, and turned to walk inside. "Well, well, well if it isn't Kyra Simmons." _**Oh shit!**_

She knew that voice and she whipped around to see if it was true. _**Shit, shit, shit! **_Her eyes got wide and then narrowed as she looked at the black haired, brown eyed man. _**Don't let him see your fear Kyra, be on the defense.**_

"What the hell are you doing here Cameron?" _**Fucking asshole. Of course he would turn up here, today of all days. **_

"Now, now Kyra...is that anyway to treat your boyfriend?"

"You are _not_ my boyfriend anymore, Cameron. You cheated on me and then dumped me remember."

"Yeah, but you didn't think that I wouldn't come around again, did you? I miss you." _**I'm sure you do. I'm sure you really miss hitting me and cheating on me behind my back. **_

She took a step towards the stairs but he blocked her way. She sighed in frustration and tried to get past him again. He blocked her off once more. She glared up at him.

"What the hell do you want from me, Cameron?" _**I don't need this shit right now!**_

He laughed as he looked down on her, "Oh, Kyra," his voice made her shudder with disgust, "you know what I want from you." She took a step back, the look on his face was dark. _**Shit! **_

"Don't even think about it," she warned. "I may have been weak when we were together, Cameron, but I am not that naive weak girl anymore. If I have to, I'll kick your ass."

He laughed mirthlessly, _**Oh, God, he gives me the creeps now! What did I ever see in him?!**_

"I'd like to see you try," he challenged and made to grab her arm. Kyra moved fast. She side-stepped him, using his weight against him, and tripped him up. He fell down the steps and landed hard on the sidewalk. _**Now's your chance, run!**_

Kyra made to run up the steps, but his reflexes were just as fast and he tripped her up the stairs. She let out a surprised yelp. The bags of food she was carrying spilled their contents all over the steps and Cameron quickly got up and grabbed at her hair. Kyra cried out in pain, _**God damnit, that hurts! **_and he yanked her back and down by his feet. She vaguely heard the sound of someone yelling her name from up above, but shook her head.

"Why do you fight it, Kyra? You know I'm not going anywhere until you give in to me," he cooed at her. _**Over my dead body!**_

Kyra swiped at his legs and he fell; she quickly kicked at his stomach and bolted for the steps.

"Sara! Emma!" she cried out. _**Gotta get to the apartment! **_She skipped the stairs two at a time, but she could hear a cry of anger from behind her and the sound of heavy footfalls coming up the stairs twice as fast. _**Shit! I've never been a good runner! **_Almost to her floor, she tried calling out again, "Sar—" but a hand slamming into the side of her head silenced her and she banged against the wall. _**Fuck! **_She thought she saw stars and shook her head. Then she felt a large hand painfully grasp her throat and slammed her up against the wall. _**Jesus! **_His hand clamped harder on her throat and he lifted her up off of the floor to his eye level. Kyra was gasping for breath, _**I'm gonna die. He's going to kill me! **_In one last attempt to get free, Kyra tried to kick her legs at his body. He slammed himself right up against her, pinning her helplessly against the wall. _**Air! I need air! I'm already starting to blackout.**_

"Ca-Cameron..." she gasped. Her hands were trying to pry his stronger hand off of her throat. He gave her a crooked smile.

"Oh, Kyra," he shook his head slightly, "this would be so much easier on you, if you would just give in." Cameron started chuckling and his gripped tightened even more. _**Shit! He's just trying to get me unconscious so he can do what he wants to me! Fuck! Where is Sara? Or Emma? Anybody!**_

Kyra's eyes were watering and she was slowly starting to lose consciousness, when a blur of golden hair came into her vision. She was dropped to the floor in a heap, gasping and coughing for breath. Her vision was becoming clear, _**Is that Fili?**_

She looked to her right to see that Fili had in fact been the flash of gold that flew past her. He had knocked Cameron away from her and was currently pummeling the man's face with his large fists and cursing in Khudzul. _**Oh, my God...He...he...saved me...**_Kyra shook her head and winced.

"Kyra!" Emma cried out. Kyra looked up into her friend's face and saw fear in her eyes. "Oh my goodness, Kyra are you okay?"

Kili had joined Emma's side and he looked to see Fili still throwing wild, angry punches on Kyra's attacker.

"Kyra, who is that man?" Kili questioned. Kyra looked over and saw that Cameron's nose was bleeding—_**probably broken now**_—and his eyes were already starting to bruise. Kyra's eyes widened. _**Shit! Fili's going to kill him if he keeps it up!**_

"Fi-" her voice cracked. _**Damnit! It feels like I have bronchitis! **_She tried again, "Fili," she whispered hoarsely.

Somehow he had heard her say his name and he whipped around to see her. _**Oh my God, he is pissed. His eyes look so angry. **_His anger was renewed and he glared down at Cameron and began another round of punches. Kyra shakily lifted herself up and crawled over to Fili, calling out to him.

"Fili, stop," her voice still cracked. He ignored her. _**Damnit! Why won't he listen?**_

She got close enough to him that she was able to place a hand on his arm and squeeze it, "Fili, please stop!" she pleaded. He stopped. Then looked over at her. She took his face in her hands and quietly whispered, "Please, please stop. He's not worth it for you to get into trouble."

Fili relaxed when her hands were on his face and he nodded his head. She let go of him and started to get up. Then she heard a loud groan come from Cameron on the floor.

"You dumb, bitch," he coughed out. _**He looks like shit. Note to self: never piss off Fili. **_"You can't run forever you know...I always get what I want."

Kyra glared down at Cameron. _**Good, God, he's never going to leave me alone. **_Then she felt strong hands gently lift her to her feet. She looked up to see Kili's smiling face and Emma's tear-filled eyes. _**Oh no. I hope this won't give Emma any nightmares from her childhood. **_Kyra managed a small smile for her friend and then she heard Cameron's hateful voice.

"Hey, buddy," he directed his eyes towards Fili—who reluctantly looked down at him—"Just so you know, if you're looking for some action in the sheets with _that_ tease, you're wasting your time."

Fili growled and punched Cameron so hard, he fell unconscious back to the floor with a loud snore. _**Wow...**_Kyra looked up at Fili with wonderment, _**He really is strong...and handsome...and heroic...What am I saying? I must have hit my head harder than I thought.**_

She felt tender hands on her face and Fili's concerned eyes came into her vision.

"Are you alright?" his eyes were searching hers imploringly. Kyra simply nodded her head and winced from the pain. Fili sighed, "Let's get you back upstairs. What should we do with him?"

Emma answered, "I'll call him a cab to take him home. Kili, can you help to get him down to the street?" Kili nodded and kicked at the dead weight of Cameron on the floor, completely knocked out.

Fili placed his arm around Kyra's waist and gently took her hand in his to lead her up to the apartment. She leaned against him and she could feel dread creep up her spine as they neared the door. _**This is never going to go away. Now Fili will start asking questions and everyone will see...God damnit! **_She felt angry, weak, and embarrassed. She pushed away from Fili and flung open the door.

"Oh my God! Kyra!" Sara ran over to her trying to evaluate her injuries. _**Great, now I get to be mothered by Sara the rest of the night. I just want some food and alcohol! Is that so much to ask?!**_

"I'm fine Sara, really," trying to wave her off. Sara wasn't having any of it.

"Kyra, your neck is red! There's a bruise along your jawline and you're limping! That is not fine," Sara scolded.

"I said, I'm fine! God, for once in your life Sara, leave me alone!" Kyra grabbed a bottle of vodka off the counter and stomped to her room, slamming the door with a BANG.

Emma

"Thank you, sir, and here's a little extra tip for having to put up with him," Emma told the cab driver who had already reassured her that he has dealt with things like this before.

She watched the cab take off down the street and wrapped her arms around herself. _**Oh my goodness, that could have ended so badly...Poor Kyra. I don't know what I would have done if she had...No, I can't think like that. It took too many years to block out what happened to my sister, but this...**_Emma backed up to the steps and sat down, worrying her bottom lip as tears brimmed her eyes. She choked out a silent sob and sniffled. She could feel her tears starting to fall down her cheeks.

_**Kyra and Sara are the closest thing I have to a family anymore and I could have lost Kyra tonight! **_Emma sniffled again and she she closed her eyes as her worries and nightmares took over her. She was barely aware of Kili's presence by her side.

"Emma," came his tentative voice, "What's the matter? Are you alright?"

_**He's so sweet to be concerned for me...Oh Emma, stop acting like such a baby. Kyra's fine...she's **__**safe**__**...**_

Emma felt Kili's arm go around her shoulder and pulled her into his side. She leaned her head on his shoulder and let the tears fall some more. She felt his tender fingers lift her chin up to look into his concerned brown eyes. _**Oh,**__** he really is concerned about me. **_

"Emma, please," he pleaded, "you can tell me anything." He moved his hand to her cheek and gently wiped her tears away with his thumb. Feeling overwhelmed, Emma couldn't hold it in anymore and she wrapped her arms around Kili's upper torso and sobbed into his chest. _**He's being so kind to me. I know I can tell him anything...so why am I so afraid? **_She felt Kili's arms wrap around her as she cried and a hand on her back gently rubbed circles in a comforting manner. She wasn't sure how long they sat there, but they stayed that way until she had calmed down to just little sniffles and hiccups.

_**This is **__**embarrassing. Why is he still here? Why is he letting me cry on him like this? It's dark out now…**_She heaved a sigh and sat up a little, moving away slightly, but still close enough for him to keep his arms wrapped around her.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

"Do not apologize," he whispered back, "considering everything that has happened, I feel it is appropriate for tears." He paused before he laughed slightly, "Please feel free to use me as a means to dry your eyes anytime."

Emma chuckled as his reply. "Thank you," she blushed and looked away for a moment. "I appreciate you staying with me...this incident brought back some...repressed memories." She saw he was going to speak and placed her fingertips to his lips, "Please, don't ask. It's not that I do not trust you, it's just that..." she sighed and placed her hand on his cheek.

He placed his large hand atop hers on his cheek and brought it to his lips. _**Ever the gentleman. **_He nodded, "I understand. When you are ready, just know that I will be here to listen." He smiled at her and looked deep into her eyes. She smiled back. _**He's so caring and handsome...Why is my stomach doing flip-flops? **_They continued to stare at each other and Emma was vaguely aware of how their faces were inching closer together.

Kili

_**I wish she would trust me enough to tell me her troubles now, but she is worth the wait. She is so...beautiful and absolutely perfect. **_He was lost in her blue-green eyes and he could feel her breath on his face. His eyes flickered down towards her lips that she was biting nervously, then back up to her eyes. He pulled her closer towards him and lifted his hand to her smooth cheek. _**So different from dwarven women...why am I thinking about that now? **_He swallowed the lump in his throat and saw that her eyes had closed and still she drew closer. He grinned a little and then closed the space between them. _**By Durin's beard...**_

His mind exploded with emotions and feelings. Her lips responded to his perfectly and he lost himself completely. _**If this is perfection, then may I never lay eyes on the Valar. Emma Carter **_is_** perfection. **_He heard her sigh and he grinned into the kissed. He was loathed to pull away for air and saw her face. _**She is stunning. **_Her eyes fluttered open and her cheeks were tinted pink. She giggled softly and gazed up at him with longing and an emotion he wasn't sure about. _**Mahal, she is breathtaking. **_Her soft voice brought him back to the present.

"That was the most perfect first kiss," she whispered, her eyes searching his, "It was better than I had imagined it to be." _**She envisaged kissing me? **_"Did I do that right?"

_**She sounds so concerned. Of course she did that right? Is there a wrong way to kiss someone? **_Kili smiled and laughed a little while he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, placing his hand upon her cheek again, "Yes, you did...and here is the second," then he gently pulled her towards him and kissed her again.

He deepened the kiss with a contented sigh and felt Emma smile into the kiss. _**I have never felt this way about anyone before. I don't know what this feeling is, but I never want to lose it. **_He wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her gently onto his lap, never breaking their kiss. He moved a hand up to the nape of her neck and ran his tongue along her bottom lip. Emma sighed and placed one hand on his chest and the other hand she tangled into his hair. He licked her lip again and she moaned slightly. _**I could get used to this. **_Then he nibbled on her bottom lip and she gasped, parting her lips. Kili plunged his tongue into her mouth, exploring every inch with his tongue. Then he felt her push back with her own tongue. _**Oh, Aule, this is amazing. She is amazing! I never want this to end. **_Their tongues and mouths danced perfectly against each other, but Kili could feel his control slipping and he finally pulled back a little. He could hear her moan of protest, but placed a sweet and gentle kiss on her lips once more.

He pressed his forehead against hers and they sat there breathless. _**I'm so happy, I could die and be at peace. **_Emma nudged his nose and took his hand, tugging on it until he stood. He pecked her lips again and intertwined their hands together as they walked up to the apartment. _**I hope Gandalf takes his time getting us home. **_He smiled to himself and opened the door for Emma, kissing her cheek before they entered the apartment. What they were met with instantly crumbled their happy faces.

Emma

"Go to hell, Sara!" Kyra yelled into Sara's face. They were mere inches apart and Kyra looked ready to throw a punch. _**Oh my, oh my, oh my! **_

"Oh, grow up Kyra!" Sara argued. "It's not my fault your ass of an ex-boyfriend showed up and all but kicked your ass! I'm just trying to help you out!"

Kyra shoved Sara and Sara lunged towards Kyra. _**Oh no! **_She watched as her two best friends both tried to throw punches at one another. Kyra's punches were a little off, _**She must have been drinking, she would never behave like this towards Sara.**_

She watched helplessly as the dwarves tried to pry the women off of each other. Thorin and Bofur pulled Sara off of Kyra. Thorin kept a firm hold onto Sara as she struggled to free herself from him. Then Dwalin and Fili lifted Kyra up and both of them had to hold her back.

"I told you to leave me the hell alone!" Kyra's angry, slurred words came out, dripping with venom. "It's my fucking life and I'll do as I damn well please!"

"And where has that gotten you?" Sara retaliated. _**Oh dear, I hope she isn't going to bring up...**_"A dead end job in Manhattan, with a useless degree, and a string of loser boyfriends. Cameron was the biggest loser and I warned you what he was like! You wouldn't listen to me!"

"I don't need you to mother me! I can take care of myself!"

"Yeah, I can see that! I guess that's what happens to people who are abandoned by their mother's when they're born!"

Emma gasped and so did Kyra. She could see the hurt in her friend's eyes and the unshed tears. _**Oh...Kyra...**_Then Kyra's face turned murderous.

"Take. It. Back." Kyra growled. Sara just stood there, glaring at Kyra. "You fucking, bitch! Take it back!" Kyra cried out in anger, struggling harder against the hold on her arms. Emma saw a few tears slip down her cheeks. Sara just sighed and shook her head.

"Go lie down, Kyra, before you hurt yourself further," Sara sounded tired and her voice wavered a little with emotion. Kyra bit her bottom lip and she choked back a sob.

"You-you're a bitch! At-at least my father loved me!" Kyra screamed back. Then she ripped her arms out of Dwalin and Fili's grip and ran down the hall to her room, slamming it behind her.

"Sara?" Emma quietly inquired, but Sara just shook her head. Her eyes were also filled with tears and she too stomped down the hall. The sound of a door slamming alerted all to where Sara had gone.

Emma bit her lip and she could feel tears in her eyes. _**I hate it when they get like this. We're all each other has. I wonder what set them off this time. **_

She felt a gentle hand on the small of her back and she looked up to see Kili smiling encouragingly. She tried to smile back, but knew it must have come out as a grimace.

"Uncle?" Kili implored. _**Bless him, he's trying to do what I should be doing by getting rid of the tension and finding out what happened. Well done, Emma. **_She was mentally reprimanding herself and Kili's voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Uncle, what happened?" Kili questioned.

Thorin sighed and ran a hand through his dark locks, "I am not entirely certain of what brought this about."

He was interrupted by Bilbo's small voice, "Sara went to go speak to Kyra about what had transpired between her and this 'Cameron' fellow." Emma heard Fili growl at the name. "We could hear shouting coming from the room and then a door slam. Sara stomped out here and then the door slammed again and Kyra shoved her from behind and they argued. Then...you saw the rest." He paused and looked from Kili to Emma and then back again.

"Where were you two while this happened?" Thorin inquired.

_**Oh dear, what will he think of his nephew kissing someone like me? **_Emma could feel her face heat up and she cast her eyes to the floor. _**I need to mop in here tomorrow. Our floors are covered in boot prints. **_While Emma continued to examine the floor, she then felt a hand brush against hers snapping her thoughts back to the present. She looked towards Kili..._**He's not going to tell them is he? Oh, what will they think of me? They'll probably hate me now.**_

"Emma was unnerved by what happened and I stayed to comfort her until she was ready to come back up here," came Kili's automatic reply. _**Well, that's technically true. Oh! But I've never lied to anyone in my life! Not even a little white lie! **_She looked to Kili with wide eyes and he silently mouthed "It's okay" and she nodded her head in understanding.

_**Huh...why isn't he telling them the truth? Is he...ashamed of me? Or embarrassed? No, he wouldn't hurt me like that. I'm being silly. This whole day has been an emotional roller coaster.**_

"Very well," Thorin consented, "It is late. Miss Carter, perhaps you have more pillows and blankets that we may use for tonight?" He looked to her and he gave her a small knowing smile. _**Oh my, he knows! He knows what happened! He knows I kissed Kili!**_

"Uh..." she stuttered, "y-yes, of course." She went to the hall closet and pulled out all of the extra blankets and pillows. She turned and saw Kili standing before her with a smile on his face. She frowned slightly, "Why didn't you tell them the truth?"

"I will," he promised, "but first I must speak with Uncle. It is tradition to speak to your elder before you..." He bit his lip and shook his head. "Do not worry, I will tell him the truth soon." He gave her his boyish smile and she giggled. She nodded and handed him the pile of blankets.

"I better go check on Kyra," she shuffled her feet and looked down at her fidgeting fingers. Her eyes flickered upwards when she felt a finger lift her chin and warm, soft lips against hers. _**Oh my goodness, I will never be able to describe how amazing his lips feel against mine. **_He pulled back with a smile.

"Good night, Emma," he winked at her.

"G-good night, Kili," she whispered breathlessly. She headed towards Kyra's room and knocked on the door. She heard no reply and knocked again.

"Kyra?...Kyra it's me Emma," still no reply, "May I come in?"

She heard shuffling on the other side and the sound of the lock clicking and then a thump. She sighed, _**Lord, give me strength. **_She timidly opened the door and stepped inside, silently closing the door behind her. _**Oh, Kyra...**_

Her friend laid curled up to her pillows and she could hear sniffles and hiccups coming from the lump under the covers. _**Poor thing. I hope she's okay.**_

Emma sat down on the edge of the bed near Kyra's head and pulled back the covers. _**Oh, Kyra...she looks terrible. **_Her eyes were bloodshot red and tears flowed freely down her cheeks. The bruise long her jawline was swollen and her neck was an angry red color. Kyra's sad eyes looked up at her and Emma attempted a smile at her.

"Hey, it's okay, Kyra."

Kyra shook her head and hiccuped a sad sob. "N-no it's *hiccup* not." Emma started stroking Kyra's hair, knowing it would calm her friend. "Everything S-Sara said was t-true."

"Oh no it's not Kyra."

Kyra sniffled, "Y-Yes it is. I was abandoned by my mom, I am in a dead end job with a useless degree, and all my past relationships have ended badly. C-Cameron is the worst and I didn't want to believe h-her."

Emma kept stroking her friend's hair and shushing her. _**She's a wreck.**__** I don't even know what to say. **_Emma was so caught up in her thoughts of what to say that she almost missed what Kyra said next.

"I kissed him today," Kyra said tiredly. _**Hmm...yes, well...wait...what?**_

"Who did you kiss, Kyra? Cameron?" Emma was shocked. _**How could she kiss that jerk!**_

Kyra shook her head and yawned. "No, Fili. I kissed him in the library today."

_**Ha! I knew it! I knew something big had happened between the two! Oh! They are perfect for each other!**_

"I was trying to make the girl at the desk jealous because she kept hitting on him. He's too good for her...he's too good for me too, but I kissed him anyway. Oh, Emma...I'm so confused!"

"How was it?" she encouraged.

Kyra sighed, "It was...amazing! I have never felt like that when a man has kissed me before." She yawned again and Emma knew she was about ready to pass out, but there was one thing she wanted to ask.

"Do you love him?" Emma bit her lip, _**I hope this works out for Kyra and that she doesn't mess things up. Fili really is perfect for her.**_

Kyra was silent for a while and then came her small, tired voice, "Yes, I think I am." Then she snored loudly and Emma giggled. _**Aw...Kyra's finally learned to love. Please let this one work out for her. **_Emma kissed the top of Kyra's head and pulled her covers up. Then she stood and flipped off the light as she left Kyra's room and tip-toed down to her room. She chanced a peek into the living room and her eyes instantly found Kili. He was asleep facing her and she saw the hint of a smile on his lips. _**Today turned out to be better than I thought. I wonder what tomorrow will bring. **_She walked into her room and didn't bother to change out of her clothes. She fell onto her bed and snuggled into her blankets. Her mind full of images of a handsome dark-haired dwarf prince.

—

*****So this was super long...sorry for that, but there was so much that needed to happen before anything else continues in the story! Plus, I think I have appeased my Kili/Emma fans with their little fluff moment! ;) You are welcome! So let me know what you thought of this chapter. Was it at all what you were expecting? Did it totally blow your socks off? Next up: a wizard finds answers to questions, friendships are tested, relationships are exposed, and jealousy is not a good color on anyone. ;) TTFN!


	11. Landlady and Nightmares

I liiiiiive! —channeling my inner Mushu here. Yes, I'm back and I'm alive and kicking. This chapter is…well it's interesting. It will be the push that the girls need to make their decision when it comes time for the dwarves to leave (therefore it makes it necessary) and it's got fluff for our couples (which people have been asking for). ;) I do want to make a note that I have a new OC briefly in here. I used my experience from when I was renting an apartment in a big city and my landlady was just the funniest, but sassiest woman I have ever met. She was a sweet little Asian woman and I just adored her. She did speak a little differently and I want to apologize in advance to anyone who might take offense to that. If you have a problem with it just leave me a PM about it and I'll change that immediately. Now…on to the story. Enjoy!

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_Sara_

Morning came and along with it a call from the hospital, asking if Sara could come in earlier for work. She was already awake, her dream making it difficult to fall back asleep. She sighed and got out of bed with a stretch. She walked into her personal bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror. _**Wow, I look like shit. **_She groaned and ran a hand over her face. Her eyes were bloodshot from crying herself to sleep and she ached everywhere. _**Stupid fight. Stupid dream kept me up all night. **_She sighed, _**I should apologize...but she should apologize first. I was only trying to help...but my dream...**_Sara looked up into the mirror and she could envisage her dream vividly...

_Sara, _a voice had called out to her. _Sara he has finally come to you. You must trust your heart and fulfill that which was once predicted long ago. He will return your love, Sara, you know this to be true. When the time comes, you must follow your heart. The Valar have chosen you and your friends to save them and he will need your love to survive. You know of whom I speak. For if you do not, death will claim him and darkness will cover the land in the East..._

The dream shifted and Sara felt as though she was watching a film. It started out in their living room, she saw how the dwarves had all fallen upon each other in a pile. _**Oh, I wish I had a camera. **_She smiled when she saw how her and her friends had tried to defend themselves with a bat, cheese knife, and pillow. _**Thorin is the one who caught me and put me to bed when I fainted? **_She then saw each of the introductions of the line of Durin; and she noticed that Kyra and Fili had a kind of light surrounding them, _**Huh, that's strange, **_but she also noticed it with Emma and Kili. Last was her and Thorin's first introduction, _**Was I really that obvious? God, that's embarrassing,**_ the light around them shone much brighter. _**What does it all mean? **_She mentally blushed when it showed her and Thorin's passionate moment in the laundry room. _**Why is the light getting brighter? **_Thorin and her were completely engulfed in a blinding light. The dream skipped forward to her and Kyra's fight. _**God, did I really say that to her? I never meant any of it! **_She could see that the dream was moving onward and came to pause at a sight she had seen many times in her dreams. She was sitting in an elegant room that was quite large. _**Huh, it almost looks like...no...that's ridiculous. It couldn't be Rivendell...Could it? **_She saw herself sitting on the edge of a bed and she was wearing an elegant navy blue dress. She saw herself look up, as if someone had called out to her, and she had smiled at them. She could see the blush covering her cheeks and how she closed her eyes, leaning upward towards someone. _**Am I kissing someone?**_ The last image she saw, shook her to her core.

She was standing on a battlefield; she could see herself covered in red and black blood. She was holding a sword in her hand, _**Am I holding Orcrist? **_and was leaning over someone. She noticed that, while her hair looked wild and untamed, she could make out an intricate braid in her hair and she looked to her ring finger to see a beautiful diamond ring was on her finger. _**Oh my God! I got married? But to who?! **_She heard raspy breathing, as if someone was taking their last breath and what she saw made her cry out in anguish. There, on the ground, with arrows and a spear through his chest, was Thorin. She saw herself crying as he reached his left hand up to her cheek. _**He's wearing a wedding band! I couldn't be married...to...**_She couldn't make out the words being said. However, she did hear Thorin's last words. He told her he loved her and he was sorry for not being strong enough. She witnessed their last kiss. So caught up with what she was seeing, she noticed her dream-self didn't see the Orc creeping up behind her. She tried to cry out, but nothing came. Then she saw out of the corner of her eye, Kyra had come charging forward and leapt in between Sara and the Orc just as it struck out. Kyra took the blow of his sword, but not before beheading the creature. Sara's dream self cried out in distress and watched as she held on to her best friend, dying in her arms. She could hear Kyra asking Sara for forgiveness and then nothing. Her dream-self cradled Kyra's limp body in her arms and crying for her friend. _**No! No, Kyra! Not Kyra! **_The dream shifted again to nothingness and then the voice called out again.

_Sara, you are destined for greatness, my dear child. The path has been set for you, only you can decide to follow it. Sara, you must save Thorin Oakenshield from this horrible fate. You are the only one who can save him and you must find the strength and courage to follow your heart. You must also mend your friendship with young Kyra. Otherwise her fate will be sealed as you have seen. You must follow the path, young one. The prophecy must come true. Your love will save him Sara. It will save him..._She had woken with a gasp, covered in cold sweat. She hadn't wanted to believe the words that were said, but the images she saw...

Sara shook her head and looked up the mirror again. _**I should probably talk to Gandalf about all of this. I wonder if he has made any progress...**_She was pulled from her thoughts when her phone went off.

"Hello?"..."Oh, good morning, Mr. Thompson. How are you today? Is your arthritis acting up aga—"..."Oh"..."Yes, unfortunately that commotion from yesterday was Kyra and Cameron...again."..."I'm sorry it interrupted your meditation hour, sir."..."Oh! No, there's no need to call the landla—"..."Oh, you already have?"..."Yes, sir."..."Trust me, it won't happen again, sir."..."I will. Thank you, you have a good day as well, sir."..."Mhmm, goodbye."

_**Shit! I forgot Mrs. Lang already gave us a final warning for the last big commotion that Kyra and Cameron had caused. God damnit, Kyra! She never listens to me! Why did she have to date that jerk?! **_Sara's thoughts were interrupted again by her phone. She looked to see who it was. _**Oh, shit!**_

"Hello?"..."Oh, good morning Mrs. Lang. How are you today? You know, the girls and I have been meaning to stop by for a visit. Maybe bring some of Emma's baked goods..."..."You've already had phone calls from the other tenants?"..."Yes, ma'am. Unfortunately, Cameron showed up yesterday and that commotion was him and Kyra."..."I'm sorry it disturbed everyone, again. But, it won't happen again, I swe—"..."Yes, ma'am. I realize you only let us live here because I'm a nurse and I help out with all of the elderly tenants. If you would just give us another chance, I'm sur—"..."No! There's no need to come up to discuss this! We can come to you."..."You're bringing an eviction notice!?"..."Mrs. Lang, I think that's a little harsh, don't you think?"..."Yes, ma'am. I'll see you in ten minutes." _**Shit! She's kicking us out!**_

Sara hurried out of her room and bolted into Emma's room. She shoved Emma off of the bed with a loud thump and heard Emma groan.

"Sara?" came Emma's groggy voice, "What did you do that for?"

"Em, Mrs. Lang called. All of the tenants have called her to complain about Kyra's big fight that they heard from yesterday and she's on her way up here to tell us to get out! We need to hide the dwarves, now!"

Emma bolted upright. She looked already close to tears. "B-but she c-can't kick us out! I have nowhere else to go!" Emma was sobbing into her hands. _**Oh Emma, she's had such a hard life. Yet, she's the sweetest thing in the world.**_

"Em," Sara pulled her into a hug, "It will be okay. We'll talk to Mrs. Lang and try to negotiate something. Whatever happens, Em, I promise we'll stick together, okay?"

Emma sniffed, "Even Kyra?"

Sara sighed. _**Kyra doesn't really have anywhere to go either. I may be upset with her right now, but I'd never abandon her.**_

"Even Kyra, but right now we have thirteen dwarves, a hobbit, and a wizard to hide in less than ten minutes." Emma's eyes got wide and she followed Sara out to the living room.

_**They're still sleeping. Well, they're in for a rude awakening. **_She motioned for Emma to go open the shades and Sara flipped on the lights. She bit her lip from laughing at the collective groan coming from the mighty men on the floor.

"Good morning, gentlemen. I'm sorry for the early wake up call, but we have a bit of a situation here," she looked about the room and saw that the company were all rubbing their eyes of sleep and then her gaze fell upon Thorin. He looked the most awake and he started towards her. _**God he is so handsome...focus Sara. You're about to be evicted and your landlady will be here in...Oh shit! Less than five minutes!**_

"Sara," Thorin all but growled at her, "What is the meaning of this?"

She sighed, "Our landlady, or owner of our apartment, is on her way up here to try to kick us out." She heard all of the dwarves grumbling, "Emma and I will try to get her to see reason, but until that time—" she looked at Thorin with pleading eyes, "I need you all to hide. At least until she is gone. I'll let you all back out once it's over, but please quickly grab your things and follow me to where you can hide."

_**Please let them be silent until Mrs. Lang is gone. **_She stopped at the office and knocked on the door. Gandalf answered and she quickly explained the situation. He nodded his head in understanding.

"Bilbo, Balin, Ori, and Dori," she waited for those four to come forward, "you hide in here with Gandalf. Maybe even help him with research." They nodded and quickly filed into the room and shut the door. She led the dwarves across the hall to Emma's room, "Oin, Gloin, Bifur, Bofur, and Bombur you all can hide in here." She waited for those dwarves to get into the room and shut the door behind them. Then she stopped in front of her room, "Thorin, Dwalin, Nori, Fili, and Kili you all can hide here." The dwarves nodded their heads and went inside, but she felt a hand gently grasp her arm.

"Sara," Thorin's deep baritone voice whispered in her ear, _**Oh my God! I could listen to his voice all day long...Snap out of it Sara!...**_

"Sara, are you sure you do not need help?" she looked up into his piercing blue eyes and smiled and placed her hand on top of his own.

"No, Thorin. Unfortunately this is something that I need to handle. Please, she'll be here any minute. I'll come get you when this is over." She saw him nod his head and he looked as though he was debating something. Then he leaned forward and kissed her forehead. She looked up at him in shock, to which he gave a small smile.

"We must speak later," he said gently and squeezed her hand before going into her room, shutting the door behind him.

_**Wow…What was that about? I thought he didn't like me…then again, he did kiss me…Oh! He's so...wonderful...**_"Sara! Hurry up! I can hear Mrs. Lang in the hallway!" Emma's worried voice broke through Sara's stupor and she raced down the hall.

She looked about the room to find it spotless. _**Wow**__**, we should have them clean up all the time. **_Then came a loud knock from the door. Sara approached the door and took a deep breath. _**Here we go.**_

"Why hello, Mrs. Lang," Sara said sweetly as she opened the door, "My don't you look lovely this morning."

Mrs. Lang, a very short and petite Asian woman, glared up at Sara. "It no lovely morning, when I get several phone call in middle of night complaining about Missy Simmons again."

Sara moved out of the way for Mrs. Lang to come inside. Emma stood behind Sara, even though she was taller than Mrs. Lang, Emma was always terrified of the woman.

"I have rent contract with me and it say specifically, that there would be no more disturbances from the three of you, again. I already give two warnings. I know baseball rules, three strikes you out. Well, Miss Walker, this strike three and you three are all out!"

Sara gulped and she heard Emma squeak from behind her, "Mrs. Lang, please let me explain..."

"No! No more explaining. You were only living here because _you_ nurse and your friends seemed nice. I have no problem with Missy Carter, but Missy Simmons bring trouble with her wherever she go. I am done Miss Walker. You three have two weeks to get moved out."

"Two weeks?! You expect us to find another apartment, in Manhattan in two weeks? We'll be lucky if we find one available in two months!"

"I no want to hear Miss Walker. It's two weeks or out on street. I know my rights and the law says I can kick you out on street." Mrs. Lang was fuming with anger, as was Sara.

_**Two weeks?! How the hell are we supposed to find another apartment within our price range in two weeks?! **_

"If you and Missy Carter want, I can write a letter of recommendation for a living place, but not for Missy Simmons. She have bad aura and give my business bad name already!" Mrs. Lang pointed a finger at Sara, "Two weeks, Miss Walker, or I throw you all out on street!" With that, Mrs. Lang left with a loud BANG.

"Two weeks?" Sara breathed, "How can we...There's no way...God damnit!" Sara started pacing the room. Emma sat on one of the armchairs sobbing into her hands.

"Oh, Sara!" Emma cried, "What are we going to do?"

Sara sighed and walked over to Emma. She lightly stroked the blonde's hair and shook her head, "I don't know, Em...I don't know."

After calming Emma down, she was still crying silent tears, Sara got up and went to let the company out. They each looked at her with sympathy, the walls in the apartment aren't exactly soundproof, and she knew they had heard everything. She came to her room last and knocked on the door. Thorin flew open the door and stared down at her. She looked down at her feet and told them they could come out now. She could see four of them had gone by her, but she looked up to see Thorin's concerned face.

"Sara," he sighed, "Sara, I'm so sorry."

She pushed past him into her room, she could feel the unshed tears in her eyes. _**Don't you dare cry, Sara Jane Walker. You can figure something out...You have to...**_She took a shaky breath and sat on her bed. She tried to shake the tears away, but she knew they would fall eventually. A hand on her shoulder dissolved her hard exterior and she broke down, sobbing into her hands.

_**Why? Why did this have to happen now? What am I going to do? We'll be thrown out on the streets! Damn Kyra! Her and her stupid fights with Cameron are the reason behind it! No...That's not fair...people fight all the time. Mrs. Lang is just a bitch! She never liked Kyra. The neighbors never liked her either. After that first fight and Cameron threatening anyone to dare interfere, they all hid behind their doors. I don't blame them. They just want to live somewhere safe and without dealing with the younger generation's problems. What are we going to do?**_

Sara was so lost in her thoughts, she didn't feel the bed sink a little by her, nor the arm that came around her small frame. When a hand rubbed her arm up and down, Sara looked up and saw Thorin's kind face looking down at her. Sara's dissolve broke even further and she collapsed into his chest, sobbing in his arms. She felt his grip tighten around her and a hand soothingly comb through her hair.

"Sara," Thorin said after Sara had calmed down a little. "Sara, I am deeply sorry for what has happened. Is there anything that my men and I can do to help you?"

Sara sniffed and shook her head, "No," she whispered against his chest, "there's nothing that can be done. We just...we just have to find a new home..._I_ have to find us a new home."

"Can any of you return to your family's homes?"

She shook her head, "Kyra's father passed away a few years ago, her mother left when she was a baby. Emma...Emma lived with her grandmother after...after her sister died. Her father is still alive, but I will not allow her to go back to that monster." _**That sick disgusting freak. I won't let him even try to lay a hand on Emma, let alone let her go live with him.**_

She felt a finger under her chin, tilting her head until she was staring into steel blue eyes. "And what of you? Do you not have family you could go live with?" Thorin asked.

"I could go live with one of my brothers, my step-sisters would never let me live with them."

"What of your parents?"

She let out a bitter laugh, "My mother died years ago and my step-mother despises me because I look like my mother and grandmother...My father..." Sara shook her head and sighed, "Years ago he would have let me come back to them. But since I refused to marry the man they wanted me to marry and chose to become a nurse, rather than take over the family business, they..." she swallowed the lump in her throat. "They...disowned me."

She heard a sharp intake from Thorin and turned her face away from him, casting her eyes to the floor. "They said I shamed our family and that they never want to...they never wanted to see me again." Sara felt more tears slip down her cheeks. A large calloused hand gently cupped her face and turned her head.

"They are fools for saying such things to you," Thorin's voice was strong and gentle, "You are not a shameful person, Sara, for choosing to do what makes you happy in life." He gave her a soft smile and she returned it. _**He really is wonderful.**_

Thorin continued after a moment, "As far as your looks go..." Sara raised an eyebrow and saw him wink at her, "I find you to be the most beautiful woman, I have ever had the pleasure of knowing."

Sara was stunned. _**Did he just wink at me?...Oh my God! Did he just...he said I was...**_"You really think I'm beautiful?" she searched his eyes to detect any kind of lie, but found none.

He gave her a smirk and leaned closer towards her, "If I did not find you to be a beautiful person, inside and out, then I would not feel compelled to do this…"

His lips gently brushed against hers and she closed her eyes, responding to his kiss. It was gentle and sweet, but it did not last long. _**I will never get used to that. **_Thorin touched his forehead to hers and gently stroked his thumb over her cheek, "No more tears," he softly whispered and pulled her in for another kiss. Sara was losing herself against his soft lips and then her phone rang. _**Shit! That's my work! **_She abruptly pulled away from Thorin with an apologetic smile and answered her phone.

"Hello?"..."Good morning Dr. Young."..."Yes, I am running late. I apologize for not calling sooner."..."Of course, sir."..."I'll leave right away, goodbye."

She turned to see that Thorin was looking at her in confusion, "You were talking...into a metal object."

She stifled a giggle, "It's called a phone. It allows you to speak to someone right away, even if they are a long distance from you. It's much faster than sending letters."

He nodded stiffly but he his brows were scrunched in confusion still. _**He's so adorable when he looks lost like that...Shit! I gotta get ready for work!**_

She cleared her throat and approached him slowly, "I have to get ready for work now," she looked down at her feet and then back up at him. He was smiling slightly and took her hand in his. "We can talk when I get back..." she went on up her tip-toes and kissed his cheek. _**Is he blushing? Oh my God, he's totally blushing!**_

"Yes, we must speak later," he raised her hand to his lips and looked deeply into her eyes, "There will be much to discuss." She nodded and he bowed then took his leave. _**Oh my God...**_She sighed and closed the door slowly, watching him saunter back down the hallway..._**Shit! Work, Sara, work! Get ready now!**_

_Kili_

As soon as Sara opened the door, Kili rushed to the living room where he could hear Emma's sniffles. _**I cannot fathom what she may be feeling now. **_He saw her sitting in an armchair, with her legs pulled up to her chest. He slowly approached Emma and kneeled in front of her. He tentatively reached a hand out to her own hand and she raised her tear-stained face to him.

"Emma," he breathed and he reached his other hand up to wipe away her tears. "I'm so sorry." She sniffed and tried to give him a smile, so he gave her an encouraging one in return. "It will be alright. I'm sure that you will figure something out."

Emma shyly nodded her head and looked around the room, then looked back at him, "I should make you all some breakfast..."

"No need for that lassie," Bofur called from the kitchen, "Bombur and I will be taken care of the cookin' while we're here." He winked at her and smiled.

Emma shyly smiled back and sniffed again. Kili looked around the room for his brother and saw him talking to their Uncle near the hallway. He could tell that Fili wasn't truly paying because his eyes would shift towards Kyra's room. _**I wonder if she is awake yet, maybe that's why he is looking that way. I still cannot believe he saved Kyra from that horrible man. What kind of man lays a hand on a woman like that? Even after Kyra and Sara's fight, Fili wouldn't stop talking about it…about her…Hm…**_His eyes shifted over to Emma and he could still feel her hand in his. He squeezed her hand and she squeezed back, looking him in the eyes.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Emma sighed, "Maybe after Kyra's awake. I need to make sure she eats and Sara...Sara will want me to tell her what's going on." She squeezed his hand harder and he looked at her in concern.

"How do you think she will react?"

"I don't know. That's what scares me. She'll be angry, of course," Emma gave him a tight smile, "But I'm not sure what she will do. She may want to go take her anger out on someone or she might lock herself up in her room." Emma was unconsciously stroking her thumb over Kili's hand, _**Mahal, that's distracting. Her hands are so soft.**_

He shook his head and placed his other hand on top of hers, he looked around the room again, _**No one is looking, **_he smiled and pulled her towards him. He muffled her surprised squeak with a short kiss on her lips. She looked at him in shock, but her cheeks were tainted pink and she bit her lip. Kili laughed at her reaction and then brought her hand up to his lips, "We need to speak later...If that is alright with you."

She nodded her head and then surprised him by giving him a chaste peck on his cheek, before getting up from the chair and wandering over to where Sara stood in the kitchen. Kili could feel his face heat up and a goofy crooked grin grew on his face. _**She's so wonderful...**_

"If you let your face stay like that, little brother, it will freeze that way," Fili's voice caused Kili to jump slightly. He half-heartedly shoved Fili away. "I can see that young Emma has captured your interest," Fili laughed.

He could feel the blush creeping up his face, _**Why must he tease me so? **_"Yes, she has, brother. I cannot begin to describe how I feel when I see her or when—"

"Or when you kiss her perhaps?"

_**W-what?! He saw that?! **_"What are you talking about? I haven't—"

"Kili, I just saw you and I'm assuming that wasn't your first kiss with her either," Fili gave his brother an evil grin. _**Oh...He's going to hold this over me for the rest of my life! **_"You have feelings for her brother."

"I...that is to say..." Kili sighed, "Yes, yes I do." He smiled to himself. "She is absolutely wonderful. I-I can't stop thinking about her and when we kiss—"

"Please, spare me the details."

Kili shook his head, "I can't even describe it...I..." he looked over at Fili and saw that he wasn't truly paying attention. He was too focused on looking towards the hallway, _**Hmm...perhaps he is worried about Kyra. She hasn't been seen since last night...Now that I think about it, both her and my brother looked rather flustered after our trip to the library yesterday...Kyra was complaining a lot about my brother whilst we shopped...Then Fili wouldn't stop talking about her all night...Oh! OH! **_Kili's eyes got wide and he looked over at Fili.

"What?" Fili asked. Kili just grinned at him and his eyes narrowed. "What? Kili what are you looking at?"

"You like Kyra don't you brother?"

"What?! What gave you that outrageous idea?"

"Oh...I don't know. You both came out of the library yesterday flustered and red in the face," Fili blushed at this, "Then Kyra wouldn't stop speaking about you in the store..."

"She spoke to you about me?" Fili sounded hopeful.

Kili loudly laughed, "Oh, yes brother! She kept complaining about you or brought you up in any topic that we conversed about. It was most amusing."

Fili blushed a little more and turned his face away.

"Then you go and save her last night from that brute of a man...If I didn't know any better, brother, I'd say you've developed feelings for Miss Kyra," he looked expectantly at his brother for a reaction. _**Ha! He's blushing and averting his eyes!**_

"I do not know what you are talking about, Kili," Fili stuttered, "I merely saw that she was defenseless last night and took the initiative to fight off her attacker."

Kili rolled his eyes, "You like her...and I am willing to bet that the two of you have also been snogging a bit."

Fili's eyes grew wide, "How-how did you—there is no way of knowing that. If it did indeed happen...which it did not..."

_**Hmm...I wonder...**_"Oh! Hello Kyra!" Kili called out looking over Fili's shoulder. Fili whipped around to see her, but she wasn't there. Kili ended up rolling on the floor laughing. "You're face!" he said between breaths, "y-you're face was priceless! I knew something happened between you two."

"All right, all right! Knock it off!" Fili exasperatedly said, "Fine," he sighed, "I-she...that is...we kissed."

Kili laughed even harder, "I knew it! What happened exactly?" Fili then went on to tell him what all went on during their stop at the library.

"She just pulled you in for a kiss? All because she was jealous of another woman?" Kili laughed.

"I suppose so," Fili said with uncertainty. "I have never felt that way for someone before Kili...It is..."

"Indescribable..." they said in unison with a laugh.

Kili grinned and patted his brother on the back, "I am happy for you brother. She will definitely keep you on your toes," he laughed when Fili groaned and put his hands to his face. Then his attention was torn away when he heard Emma's name be called from the kitchen.

_Emma_

"Emma?" Sara inquired, "Do you think you can make sure that Kyra takes some Aspirin? I have no doubt that she will have quite a headache when she wakes up."

"Of course," Emma sighed, "Do you need me to tell her what's going on? What if she gets upset or she tries to punch someone or she—"

"Emma, I'm sure she'll only just be upset," Sara calmly supplied, "We will figure something out. But I think it would be best if you spoke to her about it…I don't think she will want to talk to me for a while."

_**Poor Sara, she must feel guilty about the fight. It's not the first time they have fought and not spoken to each other for a few days...but what if they don't make up this time?**_

"Well," Sara's voice interrupted Emma's train of thought, "I better go. I'm already late. I'll see you all later!" Sara called out to everyone as she headed for the door. Thorin followed behind her and Emma saw them speaking to each other. _**Huh, I wonder what's going on there? Oh! He kissed her cheek! Aww! How cute! **_Emma smiled to herself.

"What are you smiling at, my dear?"

"Oh!" Emma looked to see Kili smiling down at her, "Oh, nothing. I just noticed something happen between Thorin and Sara is all. They make quite the couple."

Kili chuckled and leaned closer to her and whispered, "I hope they are not the only one, my love."

Emma's eyes grew wide and she felt her cheeks heat up. _**Oh my! We're a couple? But he hasn't asked me anything...maybe he is waiting? **_

"I-I better go take this Aspirin to Kyra," Emma looked to see confusion on Kili's face, "Oh! It's a kind of medicine that helps with headaches." She showed him the pills and his eyes grew wide.

"Ha! That is amazing! Such a small thing will eliminate a headache?"

Emma giggled, "Yes, it does help." She grabbed a glass of water and the pills and walked to Kyra's room. Emma stopped at her door and took a deep breath. _**Okay, it's just Kyra. She won't get mad at you when you tell her about getting kicked out...Oh!...I hate being in the middle...**_

She knocked on the door and then poked her head in slowly. _**Oh, good. She's still sleeping. **_She entered the room fully and proceeded to set the two Aspirins and a glass of ice water down on Kyra's bedside table. She giggled when she heard Kyra's light snoring and mumblings. _**Oh! I forgot she talks in her sleep sometimes. **_Emma re-tucked the blankets around Kyra's sleeping form and made to exit the room; but a loud groan and a scared whimper behind her, make her take pause. _**Is she having a nightmare? **_Emma turned around slowly and carefully looked over at her friend. _**Her face isn't relaxed anymore...It must be pretty bad if she is clutching her blankets so tightly.**_

"Kyra?" she timidly called out. Kyra continued sleeping but her mumbled words were becoming more clear.

"...No...no, please," Kyra whimpered, "Please...Emma...Sara...No!..."

_**She's dreaming about us? Oh my goodness, I hope she wakes soon. **_She tried calling to her again, "Kyra," she took a tentative step towards the bed.

"...No...blood...death...No!...Please!..." Kyra continued, "Fili...No!..."

_**Fili? I better try to get her awake. I don't want her to be scared like this. **_Emma sat down on the side of Kyra's bed and reached her hand out to Kyra's arm, but Kyra whimpered and pulled her arm away, clutching it as if burned.

"No!...Please...Don't kill me...Leave them alone!...No!...Fili!" Kyra's frantic and pitiful cries echoed in Emma's head. She tried again to get Kyra to waken.

"Kyra," she said sternly and shook Kyra's shoulder. But it wouldn't help. Kyra cried out again and scrambled away; she continued crying out to not kill her. _**Oh my! I need help. She won't wake up!**_

Emma swiftly got up and ran out of the room. _**Who should I get to help me? Gandalf? **_She could feel an anxiety attack start but willed it back down. _**Now is not the time to panic, Emily Rae Carter. Kyra needs you to be brave and get help. Oh...I just hope I can help her...**_

Her eyes scanned the room full of dwarves and fell upon Kili and Fili eating on the floor of the living room. Then she looked towards the kitchen table where Gandalf was speaking in low tones to Balin and Thorin. "Gandalf!" she cried out in panic.

His head turned to see her and she could tell he could see the panic in her eyes. "What is it, Miss Carter? What's happened?" he questioned.

"It's Kyra," she could see in her peripheral that Fili's head snapped up at the mentioned name, "She's having a nightmare and she's not responding. I've tried calling out to her and even shaking her, but she won't wake up. I-I don't know what to do. She's saying things too...about blood and death and pleading to not be killed..." Emma could feel tears welling up in her eyes.

Gandalf stood abruptly and made towards Kyra's room, Emma followed after him and she could sense someone else following after her. She peeked over her shoulder and could see Fili (concern and determination on his face) followed closely behind by Kili.

When they got to Kyra's room, they were shocked at what they saw. Kyra was now loudly crying out and thrashing about in her bed, as if possessed. She had tears coming down her face and Emma gasped.

"No!...No please! Don't kill them!" Kyra screamed. "Leave them alone!...AHHH!...Please don't kill me!...Emma! Sara!...No!"

Gandalf briskly walked over to Kyra's bedside and called out for her stop. _**Oh...Kyra! Please, please let her wake up! **_"Kyra!" Gandalf's commanding voice reverberated in the room, "Kyra...She is unresponsive. Fili, Kili...take hold of her arms and legs. I need her to be still for this to work."

Fili and Kili did as Gandalf ordered with Kili grabbing Kyra's legs and Fili taking hold of her arms. By this time, the other dwarves heard the racket and were congregated in the room.

"What's the matter with her?" Thorin voiced the question everyone was thinking.

"She is in the midst of a nightmare, however," Gandalf paused, "I fear that this is not a normal occurrence..." He looked towards Emma and she shook her head no. "As I thought, it is something sinister that has taken over her."

Emma watched with baited breath as Gandalf raised his staff and placed his large hand upon Kyra's head. He muttered an incantation that no one could understand and then repeated the process. _**Kyra...please wake up. Please...**_

Emma felt a presence next to her and she could see Bilbo standing next to her, giving her an encouraging smile. Emma didn't even realize that she had been crying, until Ori came up to her and presented her with a clean cloth. She took it with a small smile and then took hold of both Bilbo and Ori's hands. They looked back over to see what has become of Kyra.

Kyra still thrashed about, but the restraint of both Fili and Kili kept her at bay. Gandalf stopped his repetition and looked down at Kyra. She cried out louder and her words were more pronounced. "No!...Please!...Don't die...don't leave me!"

Kyra screamed so loud, that anyone would think she was set on fire. Those standing closest to her stood back and watched in horror. _**Oh my goodness! Oh my goodness!**_

"Kyra!" Fili called out desperately and ran to her side again. "Kyra, please, you must wake up!"

Kyra's screams quieted, but they did not cease. Gandalf took notice of this and stepped forward once more towards Kyra.

"Fili, give me your hand," Gandalf demanded. Fili looked up at him in confusion—which matched everyone else's confusion as well—and hesitantly, extended his hand out to the wizard. Gandalf took the proffered hand and placed it upon Kyra's head. _**What is he doing? Why does he need Fili's help? **_All who witnessed were silent as they listened to Gandalf's incantations once more. This time, however, Kyra's cries and thrashing stilled; a calmness overcame her form and she relaxed against Fili's touch. Gandalf looked between the two and muttered something to himself.

"Will she be alright?" Emma asked doubtingly. She watched as Fili began to stroke Kyra's hair and Kyra turned towards him.

"I believe she will be just fine now," Gandalf informed, "But we will need to keep a close watch over her. This was not an ordinary dream attack...Come. Let us leave Miss Simmons to sleep in peace." He started to shepherd the other dwarves out of the room, all the while answering their inquiries of what they witnessed.

Emma walked up to Kyra's bedside and took her hand. "Kyra? Kyra, wake up."

Kyra let out a groan, but did not open her eyes. _**Why isn't she waking up?**_

"She will awaken, Miss Carter," Gandalf's voice floated down the hall, "When she is ready."

Emma nodded her head and looked up when she felt a gentle hand upon her shoulder. Kili looked down at her with a small smile and squeezed her shoulder gently, "Come, Emma. Fili will look after her." He nodded his head towards his brother, whom Emma could see was still stroking Kyra's hair and had taken up her hand in his. _**He really does care for her...**_Emma smiled and gave a short nod of her head. Kili offered her his hand and she took it, threading their fingers together and left the room.

_Fili_

Once Fili was sure that none else but him and Kyra were in the room, he leaned towards her and placed a gentle kiss to her temple. "Kyra," he whispered, "Kyra, please wake up."

_**What kind of darkness took over her dream to make her act in such a way? If only she would open her eyes...her beautiful deep blue eyes...**_

Fili sat back but continued his ministrations of combing his fingers through her long brown hair and gently squeezed her small hand in his. He was startled when he heard a familiar voice behind him.

"You care for her."

Fili whipped his head back to the door to see his Uncle leaning against the doorframe, a slight smile on his face. He could also see the concern in his Uncle's eyes.

"Yes," Fili sighed, "Yes, I believe I do. I-I cannot explain how I feel for her, nor can I explain what she does to me when she is near, but I do care for her deeply, Uncle."

Thorin approached Fili and took a seat in the chair opposite him by the desk. "I have noticed, nephew," chuckling when Fili's eyes widen, "I would not make a very good King if I did not make observations of those around me. I have noticed that you and Kili have both shown your interests in Miss Kyra and Miss Carter."

Fili ducked his head in embarrassment and looked up at his Uncle, "If I may also make an observation," Thorin nodded his head to continue, "I have noticed your interest in Miss Sara, as well."

Thorin gave Fili a slight smile and nodded his head, "Indeed," Thorin agreed, "Perhaps, there was a reason for us to come here, but I am not positive about this notion. There is still so much that remains unknown as to why we are here."

Fili nodded. _**I do hope we figure out soon for what reason and why we were brought here.**_

"I will leave you," Thorin stated as he stood, "We will be having a counsel with Gandalf, once Sara has returned."

Fili nodded in agreement and turned his attention back to Kyra. _**Why am I so drawn to her...She disrespected me at first and then that kiss…Mahal, I cannot stop thinking about it. Why did it feel so right? Why does holding her hand feel right? I cannot make sense of these feelings towards her, but...Do I?...No, I couldn't be in lo-...A silly notion. Me? Being in love with a woman like her?…An infuriating, selfish, arrogant...beautiful, intelligent, and most amazing woman I have ever met. Mahal, help me.**_

A squeeze to his hand brought him out of his thoughts. He looked down on Kyra and he could see the calmness in her face. She sighed a little and mumbled something. _**Is she dreaming again?**_

"Fili..." she whispered. _**She is dreaming about me? **_He saw a smile on her face and she whispered again, "...Fili..."

_**Huh, I suppose she is dreaming about me...I wonder what about. **_He found himself smiling down at her and he gently squeezed her hand. "Kyra?" he called to her.

She stirred and let out a slight groan. She shifted her body closer to him and her eyes gently fluttered open. She blinked a few times, confusion evident on her face.

"Fili?"

He smiled at her and nodded his head, "Yes, I'm here."

She closed her eyes briefly and then looked back up at him. "What are you doing here? What happened?" _**Where do I begin? What do I tell her?**_

"You were having a nightmare when Emma checked on you earlier this morning," he explained, "She tried to awaken you, but you were unresponsive." Kyra's face was scrunched up in deep confusion. She looked around the room and then looked back up into his eyes, searching for truth. He continued, "Gandalf was the one who calmed your dreams. You were thrashing about and screaming."

Kyra nodded her head in understanding and then looked down to their still joined hands. Her eyes grew wide and she quickly retracted her hand from his hold. She mumbled an apology and reached for the water on the table, along with two small strange lookin… rocks? _**What are those?...By Aule! She swallowed them! **_

"What are you doing?" he asked in alarm.

"What are you talking about?"

"You-you just swallowed those rocks...Why are you laughing?"

"Fili, those are a kind of medicine that helps with headaches. They're not rocks."

"Oh..." Fili dejectedly said. "I-I thought they would make you ill. I did not realize."

Kyra shrugged her shoulders, "Modern world, modern medicine."

Fili nodded and looked back towards Kyra. _**Mahal, that bruise on her jaw is swollen...yet, she still looks breathtaking.**_

"We should get a salve for that bruise," he pointed out.

"Is it that bad?!" Kyra's voice rose in panic. She hurried to stand up from the bed but stumbled forward into Fili's arms.

"Whoa, steady. You've had a rough night and morning. Just take it slow, but no. It's not that bad."

Kyra's face was red from embarrassment and she stepped back a few paces when she gained her balance. She crossed the room to the mirror on the wall and lifted her chin slightly to see the bruising. A groan came from her, "Shit...how am I going to cover this up for work tomorrow?"

"I will go get a salve from Oin," Fili made his way out of her room to go find the old healer.

_**Perhaps this will be the opportune time to speak with Kyra about our...kiss. **_He stood in the living room, scanning the faces of the dwarves. _**Ah, there he is...What are they watching now? **_

"Oin," Fili called out.

"Hush, lad," Oin swatted a hand in Fili's direction, "Emma just put in this 'movie' about the Potter lad and he just found out he is a wizard. Most remarkable..."

"Oin, I am only asking if you have your salve with you for bruises and swelling."

"Oh! It's in my pack lad. The bottle with the blue writing upon it," Oin replied, still distracted by the wonder of this "Potter lad."

Fili chuckled and went to Oin's pack for the salve. "Fili?"

He turned towards Emma's voice and found her sitting quite comfortably against his brother's side on the couch. He rose an eyebrow at his brother, who blushed slightly and shrugged his shoulders with a smile, then turned his attention back to Emma.

"Is she awake?" Emma's concern evident in her voice and face. He nodded.

"Oh! I should go talk to her real quick, make sure she's okay."

Fili, Emma, and Kili headed back to Kyra's room. Kyra was sitting back down on her bed, brushing through her hair when they entered.

"Kyra!" Emma exclaimed and rushed to give Kyra a hug. "You're alright! Oh, I'm so glad you're finally awake."

Kyra smiled and gently soothed Emma's worries. _**She truly loves her friends. **_Fili sat down on Kyra's other side and gently applied the salve to her bruised jaw. All the while Emma was explaining to Kyra of what they witnessed of her while she was dreaming.

"It was awful," Emma admitted, "You wouldn't wake up. But then Gandalf placed Fili's hand on your head, uttered an incantation, and you stilled completely."

Kyra looked over at Fili, who gave her a slight smile and continued spreading the salve along her jaw. _**At least she didn't seem to mind that bit, I hope she takes the news of having to move out alright.**_

"What else happened while I was asleep?" Kyra asked and nodded her head in thanks to Fili for the salve.

"Well," Emma started, "That's...uh...I mean..."

"Yes?" Kyra urged.

"...We're being kicked out in two weeks!" Emma blurted out.

"What?!" Kyra's face grew furious and she let out a slight growl. "What do you mean we're getting kicked out? Why?"

"W-well..." Then Emma told Kyra of Sara's conversation with Mrs. Lang and how now they will have to find a place to live within two weeks.

"God damnit! That's so stupid! It wasn't my fault that Cameron came around here to cause trouble!" Kyra at this point had gotten up to pace about the room. Her hands were clenching and unclenching. _**I can only pray that she will not take her anger out on someone undeserving of her ire.**_

"How are we-? What are we suppose t-? Shit!" Kyra sat back down on the bed and put her hands to her face. "I bet Sara blames me for all of this, doesn't she?"

"Oh! No, she doesn't blame you. She knows Mrs. Lang has had a problem with you from the beginning for some odd reason and she hates that it was Cameron who started all of this..."

"But I know she blames me," Kyra stood again and fisted her hands. She was silent and trying to steady her breathing. _**She still looks angry...perhaps she is accepting it...? **_Without warning, Kyra grabbed the glass of water from the side table and threw it against the wall. "Fuck! Why did this have to happen now?! God damnit!"

_**I better put a stop to this before she hurts anyone else...or herself.**_

"Kyra, calm down!" Fili argued as he grabbed her from behind to pin her arms to her sides. She struggled against him and continued her tirade of curses and threats. After a while her struggling ceased and she was shaking. "Kyra?"

He heard a sniffle come from the petite woman and he gently turned her to face him. She had tears in her eyes and she looked like a kicked dog. _**Oh, Kyra...**_

"Kyra," he sighed, "I'm so sorry." Kyra bit her bottom lip to stifle the sob that tried to break through. Then she surprised Fili when she flung herself against his chest and sobbed openly in front of him and the others in the room. He looked up towards the other two, questioningly.

Kili, he noticed, helped Emma to her feet—who was also crying—and whisked her away with a nod to his brother. _**Thank, Aule for Kili. He knows just what others need. **_Fili nodded back to his brother and watched as he lead Emma out of the room. Fili had unconsciously wrapped his arms around Kyra's small frame. He sighed.

"Just let it out, Kyra," he whispered, as he continued to hold the woman in his arms, who always seemed so strong, as she broke down. "Just let it all out. I'll be here for you."

He almost missed the muffled statement from her, "Please, don't leave me."

He smiled a little and kissed the top of her head, before placing his cheek on her head, "I'll never leave you, Kyra. Never."

—

_Author's Note: _Sorry this took so long to post. I've been out of town (no internet in the mountains) and my children always take top priority. This probably was not what you expected and it's probably a bit long winded, but I felt it was necessary to the story. :) Lots of fluff and crazy dreams for the girls. Leave me a review/comment on what you thought; you liked it, you hated it, etc. As always constructive criticism is much appreciated. Next up: Will Sara and Kyra be able to forgive and forget? What will Gandalf reveal to them about the prophecy and how to get back to Middle Earth? The dwarves make an interesting discovery about the modern world. Thank you to all who reviewed my last chapter! I'm so happy with the responses I've had so far! Thank you also to all who have read/favorite/followed my story or me as an author! :D TTFN!


	12. Fires, Internet, Prophecies, Oh My!

_Fili had unconsciously wrapped his arms around Kyra's small frame. He sighed._

_"Just let it out, Kyra," he whispered, as he continued to hold the woman in his arms, who always seemed so strong, as she broke down. "Just let it all out. I'll be here for you."_

_He almost missed the muffled statement from her, "Please, don't leave me."_

_He smiled a little and kissed the top of her head, before placing his cheek on her head, "I'll never leave you, Kyra. Never."_

—

_Kyra_

Kyra couldn't stop the hot tears that fell down her cheeks, nor could she control the bits of sobs that escaped her mouth. She clung to Fili like a lifeline and she felt comfort in his strong arms. _**He'll never leave me? He doesn't even know me...I hardly know him, yet this feels so right for some reason...Why am I thinking about this now? We're getting kicked out because of my stupid ass mistakes!**_

She felt Fili's hand on the small of her back, rubbing soothing circles to calm her down. _**Get yourself together Kyra Jo Simmons, you are no weakling. Suck it up!...God, Why did this have to happen? What are we going to do?...I'm so glad Fili is here...Fili...My dream!?**_

She stopped crying and looked at Fili with wide eyes, searching his own blue orbs that were full of concern. _**Just knowing what will happen to him and what happened in the dream, makes this seem even worse...It doesn't help that he's so...handsome and amazing...Damnit!**_

"What is the matter?" Fili's voice interrupted her thoughts. She felt a hand upon her cheek and realized it was his. "Kyra, are you alright?"

"Huh? Oh...uh...yeah, I'm fine," she suddenly was aware that she was still in Fili's arms. _**Oh my God. I didn't even notice...Is that good or bad? Shit! Him being so close is making me unable to think properly.**_

A deep rumbling of chuckles from Fili's chest, vibrated through her as she glared up at him. "What's so funny?" _**Why is he laughing? This isn't funny...He has a great laugh...God, snap out of it Kyra!**_

"This is the second time that you have stuttered with your words around me. I find it rather amusing," he smirked.

"Yeah, well..." _**Oh, good one Kyra. Way to put him in his place. **_"Oh, shut up!" she scowled. She stepped out of his embrace and stomped over to where the pieces of broken glass sat upon the ground. She heaved a sigh, "Better get this cleaned up," she mumbled to herself. She could feel Fili's eyes on her, _**Why is he still in here?**_

"Did you need something Fili?"

She chanced a glimpse over her shoulder at the golden haired dwarf prince and saw a pink tint to his cheeks. _**Ha! The little princeling is embarrassed...but why?**_

Fili cleared his throat, "A-actually I did need to speak to you briefly."

Kyra, distracted with picking up the larger pieces of glass, hummed in answer.

"I...well, I wished to speak to you about yesterday."

"Uh huh, what about it?"

"I wanted to ask you about the...uh...the kiss we shared."

Kyra's eyes grew wide and the small cluster of glass in her hands slipped, thus leaving a large scratch along her index finger. "Fuck!" _**Shit that hurts! **_"God damnit, son of bitch!" Kyra plopped down on the ground and stuck her finger in her mouth, trying soak up the blood. "Shit!" _**It's not deep but it is long, probably going to scar. Damnit!**_

A hand on her wrist stopped her from placing the finger back into her mouth. She looked up to see that Fili was examining the cut with critical blue eyes. "We must get this cleaned and bandaged immediately. Glass cuts can cause infections."

"I'll be fine," she grunted, trying to pull her hand out of his grasp. "Let go, Fili."

"No."

"What?! You ass, let go of me! I don't need your help!"

She saw his eyes narrow and then a slight grin form on his face. _**What is he up to-o! **_Fili had swooped down and hefted Kyra over his shoulder. "Fili!" she shrieked, "Put me down you ass!" She tried smacking his back, but he readjusted her on his shoulder, eliciting a girlish squeal from Kyra. She wrapped her arms around his waist so as not to be dropped. "If you drop me, I swear to God, I will rip those braids right off your stupid lips!" _**Yeah, his stupid lips and...and...hmm...his lips...Damnit! Get a hold of yourself!**_

Fili merely let out a chuckle and proceeded to carry Kyra across the hall to the bathroom. He set her on the spacious countertop and set to work. "You'll want to rinse that off and clean it before we bandage it up," he inclined his head to her still bleeding finger. "Do you have medicine or a salve for cuts?"

Kyra turned on the faucet and nodded her head. "Yes, just in the cupboard above the sink." She absentmindedly reached behind her to pull open said cupboard and pulled out the bandaids, disinfecting wipes, and Neosporin. _**God this is humiliating. I feel like a fucking child. **_She continued to struggle to keep a washcloth on her cut and try to open the Neosporin.

"Here, let me," Fili's gentle voice caught her attention. She shook her head adamantly.

"No, I don't need your help."

"I was not asking your permission. I know more about addressing wounds than you know about hand-to-hand combat, now hold still."

"Fine," she huffed. _**Stubborn ass. **_She watched as he carefully examined her wound and she indicated what product was to be used in what order.

"You use the wipe to clean the wound..." she bit her lip. _**Fuck, I hate this part! **_Fili opened the packaging and brought the wipe to her cut. Kyra yelled out and pulled her finger away. "That hurt!"

"It would not hurt as much if you would just hold still, woman!"

"Don't call me that!"

She reluctantly stuck her finger back out and he took it gently into his larger hand. He looked up at her and then back down at the wound, bringing the wipe—gently—towards her cut. She hissed in pain, but did not pull her hand away. After Fili had disinfected her cut, he did something that surprised her. He pulled her finger to his mouth and blew on it gently. _**What is he doing?! **_

"My mother," he sighed, "would try this trick on our cuts growing up. I always felt a kind of calm from the action and..."

"And?" she encouraged.

"And I wanted to be of help to you." He looked up at her with sincerity in his eyes. _**He really means it...Wow...**_

"T-thank you," he raised a brow at her," I mean, thank you for helping me. I don't like to appear weak in front of others. My father kind of drilled that into me as a child and I never let it go."

Fili nodded his head and continued to address the wound on her finger. She showed him how to open the large bandaid, then indicated where he would need to wrap it around her finger in a way that would not allow it to come off easily. Once he was finished he brought her finger to his lips and kissed it gently.

"W-why did you do that?"

He simply shrugged, "Another tradition my mother would do. A kiss makes it better after all," he winked. Kyra let out a slight chuckle and smiled at him.

"Yeah, I guess it does..." she looked into his eyes and he back into hers. _**He really is a nice guy. Cameron never spoke like that to me, let alone help me with my cuts or bruises. He would always tell me to suck it up and get over it...Fili is completely different **__**from**__** any man I've ever met. Hm...I should probably thank him for saving me last night.**_

"Fili?"

"Yes?"

"I-I wanted to thank you, for last night. You really didn't have to-"

"Enough. I do not need your thanks. I merely saw that you were being overpowered by him and knowing just how strong you are...I couldn't just stand there and do nothing."

"All the same..." _**Why does my face feel so hot? Was he that close to me when we started this conversation? **_"I still wanted to thank yo-"

Whatever it was Kyra was thinking about saying was immediately cutoff when she felt Fili's lips on her own. Her eyes were as wide as saucers and her face, she knew, was bright red. _**Oh, my God! He's...He's kissing me! Why is he kissing me?!...Better yet, why am I letting him kiss me? **_Fili had a hand on the nape of her neck, which was how he pulled her towards him. His other arm had wrapped around her small figure and pulled her even closer. Kyra was at a loss of what to do. She could feel him nibble at her bottom lip and resisted the urge to moan. She instinctually closed her eyes and snaked her arms around his neck. _**Oh, shit. He's such a good kisser! **_She ran her tongue over his lip and he parted his mouth. She took her chance to snake her tongue into his mouth. She wanted to explore every bit of his enticing mouth and lips with her own. She let out a small moan when she felt his tongue rub back against her own. She brought a hand up into his hair and tangled it within his golden locks. He growled when she tugged on his braids and brought him even closer to her. He shifted his mouth to run along her jawline and she sighed, leaning her head back while he kissed her neck. _**Oh my God...he's an amazing kisser and so gentle. He's not demanding like Cameron was to me...**_"Kyra," he whispered in her ear and started to nibble on her earlobe. She gasped and wrapped her legs around his waist, pulling him closer with her crossed ankles. "Fili," she sighed, _**Why does this feel so right? Everything about Fili seems so right to me...Wait a minute...does he...? Does he have feelings for me? **_Kyra was pulled away from her thoughts when Fili gently placed a kiss on her lips again. This was a far more gentile and loving kiss, it made Kyra weak in his arms. Finally, Fili pulled back away from her and placed his forehead to hers. _**Aw, no...that was so great! Wait...What am I saying?**_

"Kyra," his deep voice sent shivers down her spine, "I must know." She opened her eyes and looked deeply into his cerulean orbs. "Is this intense feeling that I have for you...Do you feel deeply for me as well?"

"What do you mean?"

"Kyra, I know it's only been a couple of days, but I cannot stop thinking about you. And I...I think I'm in lo-"

"Don't say it."

Fili stepped back from her, confusion and hurt crossed his features. "But I am sure that I am in lov-"

"I said don't say it," she snapped, "Don't say something that couldn't possibly be true. We've only known each other for a couple of days and even then we haven't spent time enough together to really know one another."

"Then perhaps we shou-"

"Look," she hopped down from the counter and rubbed her temples, _**I can feel a headache coming on, **_"I'm not trying to be difficult here okay? I just...You're from Middle Earth and you'll be leaving as soon as Gandalf figures that part out. I...I'm sorry Fili. This just can't turn into anything." She looked up to see that his features had darkened slightly. _**God he looks angry and hurt. How can I explain to him about my trust issues? How can I tell him about how I'm afraid of being hurt again? I know that he never would, but I thought the same thing of Cameron and look how that turned out. No, I refuse to let that happen again.**_

Fili stepped back a little more from her with a stiff posture and took a deep breath, "Well, then...I suppose that's that." _**He sounds completely rejected...God I feel like such a bitch! Oh Fili, I just...can't do this now. **_"Good day, Lady Simmons." He bowed and exited the bathroom. Kyra bowed her head and turned around, wrapping her arms around herself.

"I'm so sorry Fili," she whispered. She bit her lip and tried to reign in her emotions before they got out of hand. Her vision blurred and she closed her eyes before whispering to the empty bathroom space...

"I...I think I love you too."

_Emma_

_**Poor Kyra. I wish I wasn't so weak...I could help her, like how she's helped me so many times before...**_

Emma was standing in Kili's arm in the hallway. She felt safe and secure in his strong arms and he did not tease her for being so weak or for crying her eyes out on his tunic. She sniffed and raised her head to look into his brown eyes. He simply smiled down at her and tucked a strand of her golden hair behind her ear; wiping away the few tears that were still cascading down her cheek.

"Emma," he gently cupped her cheek, "Kyra will be just fine. Fili will help her to see that it's not her fault." He enveloped her back into his arms and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Everything will be fine, love. You will see."

Emma smiled to herself and tightened her arms around his waist. She snuggled against his strong hold and breathed in his scent. _**Hmm...he smells like pine trees, leather, and tobacco smoke. There's something else too...I can't put my finger on it...Wait a minute...**_She sniffed again and pulled back from Kili. She looked down the hall towards the kitchen area: there was smoke billowing across the room. Her eyes grew wide.

"Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! Fire!" she frantically screamed and bolted for the kitchen. She stopped short to see that Bofur and Bombur had successfully managed to light some kind of kindling fire on the countertop, and they were currently trying to roast some bit of meat over it. "Oh my gosh! Fire!" Emma rushed towards the sink and grabbed for the fire extinguisher in the cupboard below. All of the dwarves looked on to see what all the fuss was about, but she completely ignored them as she pulled the ring off the extinguisher, took aim and sprayed the entire counter with the white foam.

"Are you both alright? Why was there a fire in here? What did you even use for wood?!" Emma heaved in one breath question after question. She looked over to see that the dwarves in the living room had fallen in to fits of hysterics and then looked to see that she had, not only gotten rid of the fire, but doused Bofur and Bombur. They were covered from head to toe with the white foam and she flinched when she saw them wipe the residue away from their faces. _**Oopsie...Guess I did too much...At least the fire is out!**_

"Oh my goodness, Bofur, Bombur, are you both alright?" she could feel heat on her cheeks as they looked towards her.

Bofur spit out what bit on in his mouth and then sent her a wide grin. _**Why is he smiling? I thought he would be angry at me? **_He laughed and shook his head, "I'm sorry lass, I guess we shoulda checked with ya before we started a fire. We're not quite certain how ta use the peculiar devices in your kitchen lassie."

Emma laughed, "Oh, I'm so sorry. I guess we should have showed you."

The company spent some time cleaning up the mess and Emma was about to explain what each appliance did when they heard a shriek come from the hall.

"Fili!" Kyra shrieked, "Put me down you ass!" Emma slipped past the dwarves to see Fili had picked up Kyra and thrown her over his shoulder with a loud and girlish squeal. "If you drop me, I swear to God, I will rip those braids right off your stupid lips!"

She giggled when she saw him take her into the bathroom and shook her head. _**They are so adorable. **_"Lassie?"

She turned to see all the dwarves standing in the kitchen. Bofur took a step forward, "Can ya show us how to use your kitchen now? Bombur's getting cranky," he winked. She let out a laugh and nodded. She showed them how to use their electrical stovetop and oven. Bombur got the hang of how to use that one and started grilling up all kinds of meats and eggs. Then she showed them how the microwave worked. She helped them to cook up some breakfast and lunch items. They loved her large sandwiches she piled up and the cookies she helped Bofur make.

_**I'm glad they like the food. Good thing we got so much. **_She sat back and leaned agains the kitchen counter as she watched the company eat with smiles on their faces. She could feel familiar eyes on her and looked out the corner of her eye to see Kili looking at her with a mouthful of food, smiling his boyish grin. _**Oh, Kili. You are just too much. **_He winked at her and continued to eat. Then she heard heavy steps coming from the hallway. Fili appeared and was looking around. _**He looks upset...I wonder what's wrong.**_

"Kili," he marched over to stand in front of his brother. Kili looked up at him with confusion. Fili leaned down and whispered to Kili, who nodded his head and shoved the last bit of food into his mouth before coming to stand in front of Emma.

"Emma?"

"Yes? What's wrong?"

"It would appear that my brother is upset and he wishes to spar somewhere private. Is there somewhere we could go to do that?"

"I-I guess you could go up on the roof. Is he alright? He looked happy a little while ago with Kyra."

Kili sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, "I believe that is the reason as to why he is so upset."

"Oh," she looked down at the floor in confusion. _**What could have happened to make him so upset? What did Kyra do now? Maybe she said something to insult him?...Hm...**_

She felt fingers under her chin, lifting her head to look into Kili's worried eyes. "It will be alright, love. I will speak to my brother and find out what transpired between the two." He gently placed a kiss on her lips and then sauntered over to his brother. She watched him as he had Fili follow him out the large window and up the fire escape to the roof. She sighed, _**He is...wonderful. **_She bit her lip and turned around to clean up the food mess in the kitchen, but bumped into a sturdy chest. She looked up and let out a slight gasp. _**Oh no, Thorin...**_

"Miss Emma," his deep voice startled her slightly but she stood her ground and looked him straight in the eyes.

"Y-Yes?" _**Oh, I hope I'm not in trouble or offended him somehow!**_

"Might I have a word with you? In private?"

"Oh, uh...yes, of course."

She led him to the front door and out into the apartment stairway. Her hands were shaking and she felt like a child about to be scolded for something. _**Oh, I hope I haven't made him angry...What if he knows about Kili and I?...He doesn't approve of me! I just know it! He would never want his nephew to start up a relationship with someone as weak and pitiful as myself...**_

"Emma," she turned around to see Thorin standing there, arms crossed across his chest and a smirk upon his lips. _**He's smiling? Why is he smiling? **_"I have noticed my nephew, Kili, has taken a keen interest in you."

She nodded her head and bit her lip. _**Oh, I knew it...He's going to tell me off politely, but still...**_

"I must say, when I had originally intended for my nephews to show interest in their One, I did not think it would be for many years. However, it seems I have been proven wrong."

"What do you mean?"

"Kili spoke to me briefly last night about his feelings for you. His description matched that of our accounts of when a dwarf truly finds their One or soul mate, I guess would be the appropriate term. As his Elder, it is up to me to allow the union to continue on. I merely wanted to ask of your feelings for him."

"Oh," she felt her cheeks heat up, "I...Well I feel a funny knot in my stomach when I am around him. I can feel myself blush when he looks at me and I feel safe and...I feel loved when I am in his arms." She was averting his critical gaze. "I guess he told you we have kissed?" She flinchingly looked up to see him nod his head in confirmation.

"How did you feel? When you two shared that intimate moment?"

"I felt, alive. I felt...It felt like something within me ignited into life and it just burns bright and more sure when I am near him. I've never felt this way before. I don't know if it is love, it very well could be, and if it is then...you need to know…" She locked eyes with his and heaved a big sigh, "It may have only been a couple of days, but I think I am in love with your nephew, Thorin Oakenshield. If you do not approve then, that is your opinion. From what I was taught growing up, love stands down to no one...Not even to a mighty king."

Thorin raised a brow and continued to hold her gaze. _**I hope he's not offended, but I really do think I am in love with Kili. I don't know how long they will be here, but gosh darnit! I deserve to know what it feels like to be in love with someone and have them love me in return. **_He smiled down at her and chuckled. _**Wait...what? **_"I wondered when your fierce side would shine through. Knowing my sister, she would not want a spineless daughter-in-law to be with her son."

He shocked Emma even further when he pulled her into a fatherly embrace, "Emma, I gladly approve of your relationship with my nephew. You make him happy and I see that he too, makes you happy."

Emma giggled and hugged him back, "Thank you, Thorin. That means a lot to me and especially to Kili."

Thorin stepped back and looked Emma in the eye with his hands on her shoulders. "If I had a daughter, I imagine I would have wanted her to be..." she held her breath, "I would have wanted her to be just like you."

He smiled down at her and she smiled up at him, albeit a little more teary-eyed than he was. She laughed and lunged into him with a hug, which he returned. "Thank you, Thorin. Thank you so much."

He kissed the top of her head and stepped back. "Now, I imagine there is a certain dwarf lad in there who will want to hear of my approval." He offered her his arm which she gladly took and he led her back to the apartment.

_Kyra_

_**What the hell is wrong with me? Why do I push people away?...I need Emma. She can help me figure out what to do now. Hmm...where is she? **_Kyra scanned the living room, but couldn't see Emma's familiar face.

"Has anyone seen Emma?"

"Aye, she went out into the hall with Thorin. He needed to speak to 'er," Dwalin's gruff voice came from next to her. "You alright lassie?"

Kyra rolled her eyes and crossed her arms with a frustrated sigh, "I'm just peachy, thanks. I guess I'll talk to her later."

"Oi! Lass!" Nori's voice piped up, "Is there anything else we can do besides watching these...movies and TV shows?"

Kyra scrunched her mouth up to the side as the thought. "Let me go get a few things and I'll introduce you to how we entertain ourselves in the 21st century."

She dashed to her room and came back with an armful. She had with her: two laptops, two iPads, and one iPod touch. "There, this should entertain you all for a while. Maybe I'll even fire up the XBOX and we can play some video games." The dwarves weren't really paying her any attention, as their focus was on the strange items before them. _**Well that was just rude. Here I am trying to tell them about this stuff, and they just fucking ignore me just because something shiny is sitting in front of them...bastards.**_

She picked up the laptop, "All right then, these are called 'computers' and they have access to any kind of information you could ever imagine. Plus they allow you to write papers and look up awesome YouTube videos." She showed the dwarves how to move the cursor on the screen and pulled up the internet browser. She smiled when she saw how in awe they were at this amazing technology. Pulling up her YouTube playlist, she put on the sneezing panda video. On the other laptop she pulled up "Tribal Trouble" and showed Nori how this game was done. He caught on quick and soon other dwarves were watching him play. She heard a ruckus of laughter next to her and saw the other dwarves laughing at the panda video and Ori pressing the repeat button. _**Oh boy, knew that would happen. **_She then showed Bilbo how to operate one of the iPads and he thoroughly enjoyed the many puzzle games and even books that she had on there. Dori was fascinated by the other iPad and absolutely loved looking through Emma's electronic recipe book and her Pinterest profile.

_**Wow, they caught on faster than I thought. Hmm...I wonder what one Fili would enjoy using...No, Kyra stop thinking about him...It just hurts too much...**_"Well boys," she looked to the couch to see Bofur, Bombur, and Dwalin looking at her expectantly. "I don't know about you but I could go for some action packed awesomeness!" She handed all three a controller for the XBOX and popped in "Call of Duty: Ghosts." _**This is by far my favorite COD that they have ever made! **_She quickly explained how the controls worked and which corner of the screen was their character. It took a couple of rounds, but the three quickly caught on and were just as involved in the game as she was.

"What the hell was that Dwalin?!"

"What?! I simply did was you said."

"You're supposed to be shooting at the other guys!"

"Kyra? What are you doing?" Emma's shocked voice came from the kitchen and Kyra didn't even shift her gaze away from the game.

"Huh? What Em? Kind of in the zone here...son of a bitch! Take that you cockfag!"

"Kyra!"

"What?!" Kyra growled and paused the game, causing the dwarves playing to curse in Khuzdul, "What do you want Em? We were in the middle of a kick-ass game!"

Emma shook her head disapprovingly, "Must you show them all the violent games? Why can't you show them something more happy?" _**Oh...My...God, Em.**_

Kyra raised a brow, "Seriously? They have probably dealt with more violence than we can even imagine."

"Okay, okay. A fair point. Has Kili come back in from outside?" Emma looked around the room. Kyra too started to look around. She couldn't see the troublemaker or his golden haired brother. Kyra sighed _**Way to go stupid! You totally fucked this up!**_ She grumbled, "I guess not. Back to the game boys!"

_Later that evening_

_Sara_

_**Oh my God! First thing I'm doing is taking a long, relaxing, and luxurious bubble bath with mineral salts and scented candles when I get home. This has been hands down the worst day of my life! **_Sara had gotten off work early and was now back at home, sitting on the stairs near the apartment. The hospital had been busier than usual, her bosses had all snapped at her for being late, and to top it all off her car had gotten a flat on the way home. _**Stupid construction! Probably have a fucking nail in the damn tire now! Well, I better go see what the damage is inside. I wonder what they have all been up to today...what Thorin has been up to...Oh God, he is amazing! **_She smiled to herself and got up from the stairs to go inside when she heard a loud roar of anger coming from inside. _**What the hell?! **_She hurried with the key when she heard Kyra's cry of distress. _**Shit! Did Cameron come back?! **_She pushed opened the door and stood stock still with her mouth agape at the sight before her.

"Ha ha! Take that Dwalin! I totally flattened your ass!"

"Just you wait lassie. The next squid I get will be coming for you!"

"Ha ha! Thorin I just shot ya off the cliff with that turtle shell!"

"This game is much too confusing. I preferred the war game over this Mary-o Kert."

"'Mario Kart' Thorin, Mario Kart. Lighten up dude!"

Sara's mouth was still open and she was still trying to process what she was seeing. _**Oh. My. God. Thorin Oakenshield and Company are playing Mario Kart...fucking Mario Kart! What the fuck?**_

"What the hell are you all doing?" she looked around the room to see that many of the dwarves and Bilbo were handling electronic devices. "Jesus! Whose brilliant idea was it to allow them to play fucking Mario Kart?!"

"I did," Kyra growled. "They were bored so I thought they might like to see how we entertain ourselves in this world. They caught on pretty quick..."

"Kyra," Sara pinched the bridge of her nose, "Nevermind, just...I'll be back. I need to talk to you."

"Surprised you're even talking to me at all," Kyra grumbled. _**God**__** give me patience.**_

"Ah, Sara," Gandalf entered the room. _**Jesus, he's so fucking tall! **_"I am glad you are here. I must speak with you, Miss Simmons, and Miss Carter for a moment."

"Oh, of course."

Sara motioned for the girls to go follow after Gandalf into the office. She caught sight of Thorin who gave her a charming smile. She returned it and mouthed, "We'll talk later," to which he nodded and winked at her. She blushed and rushed into the office, closing the door behind her.

"Now, ladies, please take a seat," Gandalf hunkered down in the large armchair, while the girls found places to sit in the small room. "I believe I have found the way back to Middle Earth." The girls beamed at each other and looked expectantly at the wizard. "I have been shown both of these films of our journey..." _**Oh I hope that wasn't a mistake. **_"While I am surprised by some of what we will encounter, I am pleased to see that our overall goal will be accomplished. However," _**Of course,**_ "I must ask of you, what happens in the rest of the journey?"

He looked directly at Kyra who cursed under her breath and then began to tell Gandalf of all that will happen in the last of the journey. She mentioned Bard shooting down Smaug, the gold sickness of Thorin, the Battle of the Five Armies, and how the line of Durin—all three—fall in battle. Sara sighed inwardly, _**If there was**_ _**anyway to change that end, I would definitely be all for it. Not just because I am attached to Thorin, but I have never really found it to be a just end.**_

"I see," Gandalf's voice broke her thoughts, "Well then, that answers the riddle of the prophecy and the inscription on your closet door."

"What prophecy are you talking about Gandalf?" Emma timidly shifted in her seat and leaned forward on her elbows.

"What inscription?" Kyra mimicked Emma's position and leaned forward in the desk chair.

"The inscription read: 'Through the door, destiny awaits. Only the Three can change their fates. The light of the new moon will show them the way, and the love of Durin can will them to stay.' This means that on the light of the new moon, the door will lead back to Middle Earth and you are the Three that are allowed access to our world."

_**Say, what now? **_"We're the 'Three' that this inscription mentions?" He nodded his head. "That's absurd!" Sara scoffed, "There's no way we could..."

"Miss Walker, as far as my understanding is about the magic in our world and what little can be found here in yours, we were _meant _to come here. You three shall join us, just as the prophecy once foretold."

"Okay, hold up!" Kyra stood up with her arms crossing back in forth in front of her, "You mean to tell me, that that piece of shit door, in our piece of shit closet, will lead us—the three of us—along with the company, back to Middle Earth? And you just expect us to just...go?!"

"Kyra, calm down," Sara pleaded, "Maybe there's more to be learned. What did the prophecy say, Gandalf?"

He nodded to Sara sincerely, "Lady Galadriel had a vision, long ago. It showed her the fate of the line of Durin, just as you described, Miss Simmons," he gave her a pointed look. "She also had a second vision that showed three young woman, she assumed from outside of our realm, saving them from this horrible fate."

We all gasped. _**No fucking way! **_We looked at each other in shock. He continued, "She told me that when Thorin Oakenshield would journey to proclaim the mountain, he would stumble across love. Something that no one could have predicted to happen." He looked knowingly at Sara, _**Am I blushing?! Shit, I'm totally blushing! **_"Miss Walker, it would seem that you have opened up the very heart of Thorin and he has found you as his One."

"Wow," Sara breathed, "I'm...I'm his One? But Gandalf, it's only been a couple of days since you all came here. There's no way anyone could love someone that quickly."

"When a dwarf loves, ladies," he gave a look to first Emma (who blushed bright red) and then to Kyra (who averted his eyes completely), "they love only once. This makes the union all the more special. Now," he cleared his throat, "Let us bring in the leader and his heirs so they may know we have found when we are returning." He made to stand up, when all three girls blurted out at the same time.

"When's that?!"

He smiled, "Two weeks from today, which I believe is when you will be in need of finding a new home, is it not?" With that he left the room, leaving the girls dumbfounded.

"A new home?" Emma questioned uncertainly.

_**Holy shit! A new home? We could totally go to Middle Earth and stay there!**_

"Oh my God! Girls, do you know what this means?!"

Emma looked at Kyra, who looked back at her, then back at Sara, "No..."

Sara rolled her eyes, "Jesus...It means we could find a new home in Middle Earth!"

They both gasped and looked at her with wide eyes. _**What? I think it's a great idea! **_

"Oh, come on! We all love Middle Earth! We used to talk about what it would be like to live there and not have to deal with the stress of modern times and...not to mention all of our family problems..."

"You're crazy," Kyra huffed, "There's no way we could survive there! We wouldn't have any family or friends there. Plus, newsflash: no jobs there either! How the hell am I supposed to make money in a world I've never even thought could exist!"

"I like the idea," Emma bubbly added.

"Emma?! What the hell?"

"Well, if you think about it, everything Sara said makes sense. We don't have family here and who knows maybe the dwarves could accept us into their lives. We do love everything about Middle Earth. You especially, Kyra. You're always going on and on about how wonderful it would be to live there, to study the different races, and do what you love to do. What you went to school for. I wouldn't object to see all the architectural places. Plus, it works with the timing for when we need to be out of here. We could sell all the fancy stuff and keep the more meaningful things we would need."

_**That's the spirit Em! **_"Alright Emma! So it's decided! We'll pack up our stuff over the next week, try to sell everything we can, and then-"

"So you two are really going to stay in Middle Earth after this stupid, suicide quest?" Kyra growled. "You're just going to leave all of this behind? I'm willing to go along and join the quest, but I'm not staying in Middle Earth. There's nothing there for me to truly stay for."

"What about Fili?" Emma timidly shuffled over to Kyra, "I'm pretty sure he would want you to stay."

_**Kyra and Fili? When did that happen? **_"Emma's right you know, Kyra." Sara shifted from one foot to the other as she stood. _**I don't know if she wants me near her, but I'll still be supportive of her.**_

"No, nothing will come from it. I...I can't let anything grow from that."

"Kyra, not all men are like Cameron. Fili is the least likely person to ever do anything like that to you. He likes you immensely," Emma soothed. Kyra shook her head.

"Just forget it guys, I'll go with you on this quest. I'll think about staying, but I don't want to hear anymore about Fili and I being anything, got it?"

"Kyra," Sara sighed.

"I don't need your input, Sara! Just drop it."

The two women stared at each other and all three jumped when a knock came at the door. Sara opened it to see Thorin standing before her, a grin on his handsome face. _**I'm his One...I'm his soulmate...Oh, God if this is a dream, then may I never wake up.**_

_30 Minutes earlier up on the roof:_

_Kili_

"Brother," Kili gasped, "Might we...take...a break? We've...been at this...for...hours."

"Very...well," Fili breathed, "Let us...take a...respite." Fili sat back agains the wall of the building and Kili sat on his side, enjoying the shade. _**Fili and Kyra must have had one, as Kyra would put it, "hell" of a fight. I do not understand their relationship, but it does entertain much.**_

"What is troubling you, Fee?"

Fili grumbled and rolled his eyes, "Nothing, Kee. I just needed to let out my angst and frustrations. I apologize if I was a little...rough."

"Ha! A little?"

"All right, a lot. That woman is driving me mad, brother. One minute she seems to enjoy my company, even encourages it. Then the next minute, she despises me and we're back at the start."

_**Oh, Nadad. No wonder he is so wound up. **_"Fee? Have you told her how you feel? Do you love her brother?"

"...Yes, nadadith. I love her more than I can say. She just frustrates me so and yet that's what I find so endearing." Fili laughed bitterly, "It is just as mother always said: 'You want a woman who keeps you on your toes and in your place. Not one that you can order around and have dull life with, day after day.'"

The brothers laughed together and paused in comfortable silence. Kili absentmindedly reached into his pocket and felt his token. _**Don't worry, Mother. I'll come back home to you, I promise. **_"I miss her," Kili said aloud. "I know I rarely say anything about her, but I do, Nadad. I miss our Mother."

Fili nodded, "I miss her as well." They sat in silence, each lost in his own thoughts.

"I'm glad to hear that your mother had some influence on your young minds."

The boys both turned their heads to see Thorin standing by the ladder that led back down to the apartment. He chuckled, "She will be pleased to hear that her sons missed her just as much, as I assume, she misses you."

They all smiled at each other and Fili scooted over so that Thorin could join them in the shade. _**I'm glad Uncle is with us. He makes everything seem so much better.**_

"I wanted to apologize," Fili and Kili looked up at their Uncle in shock. _**Thorin never apologized for anything. **_"I have not attempted to see to your needs in this strange and vast world that we landed in. Are you both adjusting well? At least for the time being."

Both boys nodded their heads. "We understand, Uncle," Fili started with a smirk. Kili continued with a grin, "You have been...distracted lately."

_**Thorin is actually blushing! This is just too rich! **_Thorin grumbled under his breath. "I admit, I have become distracted, but I should still have sought you out."

"We just want you to be happy, Uncle," Kili smiled.

"Yes, plus, we happen to like Sara. She's a lot like Mother in some ways," Fili chuckled.

All three started laughing and enjoying the little private moment they were having. Kili recounted his interactions with Emma and couldn't believe it when he heard Thorin had spoken to her.

"You what?!" _**Oh Mahal, why did he have to talk to her? She'll never want to be with me now. **_

"Do not worry, Kili. I merely expressed my concerns of her affections towards you, but" he cut Kili off from speaking, "She has exceeded my expectations and even stood up to me. I approve and you have my__blessing, lad. You must educate her on dwarvish courting customs and you will need to look into how courtships work in this time of age."

_**I...I...I can't believe it! Uncle approves! Oh, by Aule, I've never been so happy in my life!**_

"Thank you, Uncle!" Kili hugged his Uncle in a manly embrace and beamed at his brother, who looked very happy for him.

"Now, Fili," Thorin looked over at Fili, "I believe we must discuss about your relationship with Kyra."

Fili mumbled something and went to speak out loud when Gandalf's voice carried over the wind. "Ah, there you three are."

_**How did such a tall and old man make it all way up here? **_"I must speak to you three immediately." He leaned in closely to the three dwarves, "I have found the way home and you, Thorin Oakenshield, will have added three new members to your company. You need only ask the three young ladies and they will join you."

_**Emma's going to come to Middle Earth? Sara and Kyra too? This will be amazing! What a great adventure this is turning out to be.**_

"Wait," Thorin's brows were knit together, "They are coming with us? You would put three women in danger?"

"They have no choice really. They have a prophecy to fulfill and there is more to them than meets the eye. You have seen it in all of them. They each have a fierce and fighting spirit within them. I have faith in them and you must trust me in this. I thought you would be overjoyed to hear that Sara is contemplating staying in Middle Earth with you." Gandalf gave him a knowing smirk.

Thorin, Fili and Kili's heads snapped up at the wizard. _**What? They're staying with us?**_

"They are in the midst of discussing their reasons for staying in Middle Earth. I believe if you each ask them to stay, they would be more than willing to do so."

Thorin leapt up from where he sat and started for the fire escape with Kili and Fili hot on his trail. Thorin all, but leapt into the living room, made a mad dash to the office. He knocked on the door and Kili could see Sara just on the other side. Kili looked over her shoulder to see a smiling Emma and a slightly put out Kyra.

"Sara," Thorin panted out in a large breath, "Sara, will you join the company?"

Sara nodded and he looked towards the other two. "Will you join as well?"

The other two nodded in acceptance. Kili moved passed his Uncle and hugged Emma. He laughed and lifted her up to spin her around. She giggled and he set her back down. "Emma, will you stay in Erebor...with me?" _**Please let her say yes.**_

"Yes, Kili, of course I will."

Kili leant down and pressed a long kiss to her lips. _**I'm the happiest dwarf in all of Aule's creation. **_He pressed his forehead to hers and looked into her green-blue eyes. He took a steadying breath, "Emma, I...I lo-"

A squeal came from the other side of the room and Kili turned to see Thorin had lifted Sara up and spun her around. "Yes!" she exclaimed. "Yes, I will stay with you!" Thorin had stopped spinning and held her to him. She lifted a hand to his face and smiled lovingly at him. _**If only Mother could see Uncle now. She would never believe he has found his One.**_

"Kili?" he felt her delicate hand upon his cheek, turning his head to look back at her. He closed his eyes and placed his hand upon hers, bringing it to his lips.

"Emma, perhaps we can speak in private, after dinner?" He smiled as she nodded and placed a peck on his lips.

"What about you, Kyra? Will you be joining us in Erebor?" Thorin asked of the brunette standing quietly in the corner of the room. _**Why is she so quiet? I thought she would be happy. She loves Middle Earth.**_

"I am going on the journey," Kili saw her lift her gaze towards the door where Fili stood, "But I do not think I will be welcome to stay in Erebor." She bit her lip, "I'm very happy for you all and I will help you with what I can...Excuse me."

"Kyra?" Emma tried to follow but Kyra was too quick. Kili saw her stop in front of Fili and then hurry past him to her room. _**She is hurting just as much as he is...Maybe Emma and I can talk to her tomorrow.**_

"Will she be alright?" he whispered to Emma. She looked up at him and shrugged her shoulders while she shook her head with a "I'm not sure" look. He nodded and looked to Fili. _**I know that look. He is angry with himself...**_

"Come, we will inform the others and celebrate tonight," Thorin smiled and kissed Sara on the cheek before taking her hand and leading her out. Fili followed after and Kili, along with Emma, walked out to the living room just in time to hear Thorin exclaim to the company that they would be heading home in two weeks when the new moon reaches its peak in the night sky. _**Mahal, two weeks to fix two stubborn people. **_

Cheers rang out in the apartment and the company spent the evening eating, drinking, and asking more about the world they were stuck in for two more weeks.

—

_**Nadad= brother that is older**_

_**Nadadith= brother that is younger**_

_***Steps out from behind curtain...(waves shyly)...**_Hi everyone! Sorry for taking so long with the update for this chapter. Not only was I working, but I actually had to do my work rather than spend time on my story (rude huh?). Anyway, this chapter was a bitch to write! Can I say that? Well it was. So I bitch-slapped it and here we are! We finally know what the prophecy is about and that the girls are going to go to Middle Earth! Will Kyra end up staying in Middle Earth with everyone else? Will Kyra be able to forgive Sara so easily? Up next: Emma snaps and all hell breaks loose. Kyra gets screwed over at work. What does a bunch of chick flicks have to do with Kili being so nervous around Emma now? And...what's that? There's a Renaissance Fair coming to town? What will the dwarves think of that? I will get the next update out soon. The story will be moving much more quickly. In a few chapters they will be back in Middle Earth and we will see how the girls adapt to their new "home." Thank you to all who reviewed the last chapter! I got great responses and I'm so glad you enjoyed it. Please leave a review or comment. As always thank you to all who have read/followed/favorite me and my story! TTFN!


	13. Talks And Tattoos

At long last! Here is the update you've all been dying for! I'm so sorry it took so long. We had a bit of a family emergency—no worries—everyone is fine. It turned out to be more of a scare than anything else. Thank, God for small miracles. Anyway, I wanted to thank you all for the reviews from the last chapter! I wish I could reply to some of my guest comments, but I'll get over it. ;) This chapter I ended cutting in half…totally worth it though. :) Enjoy!

—

_Sara_

Sara's breath was coming in pants as she tried to even out her breathing from her morning run. Hearing the sound of her shoes hitting the concrete and trying to keep up pace with Emma, Sara let her mind wonder over what had developed over the last five days.

_**God, so much has happened. I'm still shocked that we will be going to Middle Earth! Plus, Thorin asked me to stay in Erebor. Fucking Erebor! He's so amazing!**_

"Sara."

_**I still can't believe we have just nine more days until we leave! Jesus, there's so much still left to do. I still need to go pick up my last paycheck. Then I'll need to make sure all of my loans are paid in full...Hmm...I guess what I have left over I could wire to my brothers.**_

"Sara..."

_**We need to sell our furniture, mine and Kyra's cars, pack everything we can take...Maybe if we end up in Rivendell we could leave the large stuff and just take the essentials for the quest...**_

"Sara!"

"Oh, I'm sorry Emma..." she looked towards her friend and could see the amusement in her friend's eyes. "What were you saying?"

Emma giggled, "I was asking how your movie night with Thorin went. Then you kind of just...spaced out."

_**Oops, my bad. **_"Sorry, hun. Well, last night..."

Previous Night

"Could we not simply ask this 'Mother of Dragons' to accompany us on our quest? She would be most useful..."

Sara sighed, "For the last time Thorin," she closed her eyes in frustration, "She is not a real person. Daenerys Targaryen is a made up character, played by an actress." _**It's not like we haven't gone over this a thousand times, over the last few days that we've been watching the damn show!**_

"Perhaps the 'actress' has this ability t—"

"Oh my God!" she threw her hands up in the air in frustration, "There is no one in our world who has the ability to speak to nor tame dragons. This show is just a form of entertainment, nothing else, Thorin." _**Why is this so difficult?! Why can't he understand?!**_

Thorin huffed and got up from the bed in her room that they were cuddling on. She could tell he was upset by his pacing of the room, "Why must your world be so misleading? Why does this 'entertainment' mislead others to believe that such people and powers exist? It's confusing and frustrating. Why can't things be more straightforward in your world?!"

_**Jesus Christ. Okay, deep breaths. Just calm down Sara. You don't need to get in a huge argument over such a trivial thing. **_Sara closed her eyes and breathed deeply before she spoke again. "Thorin, I'm sorry that you believed that this was misleading. I...I didn't mean to show you something that is unattainable. I just...I just wanted to spend time with you and I thought you would like this show. Maybe we should just call it a night. We can hang out another time, I guess." She looked down at her fidgeting hands. _**I had hoped we could spend time to get to know one another, but I guess that's not going to happen. Who knows when we will get time once we go back to his world... **_Sara felt the bed shift to her left and a warm gentle hand tilting her head back up. She stared deep into his pale blue eyes; he had an emotion there that she couldn't put her finger on.

"Sara, do not apologize. I am the one who should be making amends...I am sorry," Thorin heaved a heavy sigh and looked deep into her eyes. "I...I am worried, I suppose...about the journey ahead. I was trying to figure out a way to make certain that we are successful."

_**He really is wonderful. **_Sara smiled and brought a small, delicate hand up to his bearded__cheek and she reveled in how soft it felt under her fingers. Thorin closed his eyes and leaned into her touch. He took his larger hand and placed it over her own, bringing it to his lips and placed a gentle kiss to the back of her hand. He lowered their hands and entwined them together, then did the same with the opposite hands. He looked back up into her eyes once more and his face, though serious, had a softening look about him. _**I wonder what he's thinking...**_She unconsciously bit her lip and she saw his eyes flicker down at the action. Then he gazed up again and leaned closer to her.

"Sara, there is something I...I wish to discuss with you." She nodded her head for him to continue. "I have asked Balin to research how the traditions of courtship are done in your world. I must admit," he smirked, "some of what I have been told I found rather shocking, yet quite amusing."

Sara gave a slight chuckle to this. _**I'm sure hearing about platonic relationships and how fickle people are when it comes to ideas of "love" must be quite amusing. **_"Believe it or not, a lot of that is true and is accepted openly in this world."

Thorin shook his head with an amused smile on his face, "Be that as it may, there were some ideas I did find...useful. However, I do hope that you will accept my own traditions as well, when the time comes."

_**When the time comes?...What the hell does that mean? **_"Thorin...what are you trying to say?"

Thorin sighed and lifted his hand up to stroke against Sara's cheek. She closed her eyes and leaned into his touch. When she opened her eyes, she saw an emotion in his eyes that she had only dared to dream over the last few days. Her brows furrowed in confusion, "Thorin, wha—"

"I love you, Sara."

Sara's eyes grew wide and her jaw dropped open. _**Wh-what? **_She could feel her heart skip a beat and her stomach did a somersault. _**He loves me? Oh my God!...He loves me! **_She could not stop the smile that spread on her face and she could see the pure love and adoration in his eyes. He gave her his heart-stopping smile that made her weak at the knees.

"I love you, Sara Walker...and I would be honored if you accepted my offer of courtship."

Sara let out a light-hearted laugh and nodded her head. "Of course I will accept..." She bit her bottom lip and looked up at Thorin from under her eyelashes. Her heart was full of joy and she needed him to know how she felt. "Thorin, I love you too-"

Thorin's lips were on hers in an instant and she felt herself being pulled flushed against him. _**My God, his lips are amazing. **_He had one strong arm wrapped around her waist and with the other he securely held her upper back towards him; his hand was wound up in her hair, gently holding her head in place. She reached her hands up and rested one upon his strong chest, while the other extended further up to the nape of his neck. Thorin nipped at her lip and she nipped back. Both enjoying the moment and yet, Sara could sense a longing in his actions. She felt her lips being wetted by his tongue and was more than pleased to allow him to explore her mouth. She brushed her own tongue back against his and she heard him give a deep guttural moan. _**Oh dear, God! That was the sexiest sound I've ever heard! **_The hand resting on his chest, found its way up to the top of his undone tunic top and she felt the soft chest hair there. She brought her other hand down from his neck and stroked over the thin fabric that separated her hands from his bare chest. She could feel the muscle tense there and she smirked against his lips at the frustrating groan that left his throat. Suddenly, she felt him lean more towards her and she couldn't help but allow gravity to do its job, and fell back against the bed. Their ministrations never ceased or paused, if anything it intensified. _**Oh my God, his hands are everywhere...and his lips! **_Thorin's larger hands were brushing along her sides, causing her to squirm under him and moan. Her hands, on the other hand, were tracing along the tunic over his muscular chest and the other was tugging at the material. _**God, I want to feel his muscles. **_Thorin's lips left hers and trailed along her jawline, down to her neck; a spot in between her collarbone and neck. His beard, though soft, was a little coarse and scratched all along the way against her sensitive skin. At times he would take a chance to taste her skin with his tongue or nip at her with his teeth, causing her to gasp and moan out his name. "Thorin," she continued to pull him closer and tugged at his tunic again.

As suddenly as they had started, it stopped. _**What the fuck?! What just happened? Why did he stop? **_She looked up at him with half-lidded eyes and could see confusion in his brilliant pale orbs, but there was also an underlying uncertainty there as well. _**Oh my, God. Did I do something wrong? **_

"Sara," his breath still ghosted across her face and she looked up at him with confusion. "I am sorry. I lost control..."

"What?...No, Thorin, It's alright."

He sat up on the bed and she followed suit, sitting crossed legged from him. _**What's gotten into him? **_"This was not appropriate behavior for me to display...You are a woman and therefore, in the eyes of my culture, treasured above all else. I do not want you to think that I do not respect you."

Sara blinked at him, then blinked again. "I...I don't understand. Are-are we not allowed to do something like..." _**God, this is awkward!**_

He shook his head, "It is frowned upon, in my culture, to do such an act as...copulation, before we are wed. Where I am to be King, it is most important that we wait for the right time to come, before engaging in such an act."

"Well that's bullshit, if ever I heard any," she got up from the bed and started pacing the room. _**Why can't we just...? It's not like..."Frowned upon,"...What bullshit! **_"Do you really expect me to just...just accept such a medieval ideology?! It's not like anything could hap—" Her eyes grew wide and she slapped a hand up to her mouth. _**Oh my, God, Sara! **_She turned away from him and looked at herself in the mirror on the opposite wall. She brought her hand down and wrapped her arms around herself in comfort. _**You can't be with him! You can't have children, that's what the doctor said when Kevin and I went to go get a fertility check. He was fine and I...Oh, Thorin...It will break his heart! He'll be expected to have heirs...Shit!**_

"Sara? What is the matter?" Thorin stood behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist and placed his chin on her shoulder. "What troubles you, my love?"

Sara uttered a shaky breath. _**Do I tell him? Wait...Isn't a courtship like, dating in a way? If that's the case, who knows if we will even get married in the future. I'll have to ask Balin about that. I don't want to disappoint Thorin...I don't want a repeat of Kevin all over again. That was hard enough as it was to go through...**_

She turned in his arms and placed her own around his neck. She smiled up at him, "Nothing's wrong, I just...I guess I'll just have to make some adjustments is all. All of my 21st century thinking will have to be...tossed aside for now, I suppose. But I'm honored to court you Thorin." He gave her a grin and leaned in to kiss her.

"What do you call courting in your world?"

"Well, we call it 'dating' at least until the couple—should they choose—become engaged or I guess you would call it betrothed?" He nodded at her uncertainly and gave a small chuckle. "Is there some special thing...ritual we need to do?"

"Yes, sit down and I'll braid this into your hair," he held up a small metal bead. _**Wow! It's so detailed! How the hell do dwarves, with their large hands, etch such small inscriptions into these!? **_"It is the symbol of the House of Durin and then next to it is my sigil. When others see this, they will know that I have chosen you as my One and you have accepted my offer of courtship."

She smiled up at him and lead him by the hand back to the bed's edge and sat down, facing away from him. She could feel him comb his fingers through her hair, causing her to shiver slightly, and then relax. _**Wow...who would have thought this could feel so...intimate? **_She could feel him part a section of her hair and begin to braid it. She heard the snap of metal and then turned to see the braid he had put into her hair. "Oh, Thorin..." she gasped. _**That's the most intricate braid I've ever seen! **_"It's beautiful, thank you!"

She lunged at him and hugged his expansive chest. He chuckled and she could feel his strong arms wrap around her. He kissed the top of her head, which prompted her to lift her face to his and kiss him tenderly. He pulled away slightly and rested his forehead to hers.

"I will leave you to rest, love. I'll see you in the morning."

"Okay," she bit her lip and kissed him again, more deeply this time. Then she watched him as he left the room and closed the door. She flopped onto the bed and held up the braid. "I'm courting Thorin Oakenshield..." she let out a soft squeal of delight and then turned off the light to go to bed.

_Emma_

"Oh, so that's what that braid in your hair is for?" Emma was so enraptured by her friend's story, she hardly noticed they had gotten back to the apartment building. She and Sara stretched out their muscles just outside, and Sara came over to Emma, showing her the braid.

"Wow," she eyed the bead, "How do they...?"

"I have no idea, but it's beautiful isn't it?"

Emma nodded her head and smiled at Sara. _**I'm so happy for her! She deserves it, especially after Kevin bolted when he found out...Wait...**_"Sara?"

"Yes?"

"Did you tell Thorin about...about your condition? Does he know you...you can't have kids?" She bit her lip, _**I hope that wasn't rude...Oh my, gosh! That was probably the worst thing I could have ever said! **_She started to apologize, "Sara, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean..."

"It's okay, Em," Sara laughed. Then she looked down at her feet and muttered, "No, I haven't told him, yet. I do plan on it though. I was going to talk to Balin about all of this courting stuff first. I don't know if this is going to turn into something more serious or not, but I figured I should be prepared to tell him the chances are zilch if he wants a family with me."

"I highly doubt it will change his mind, Sara. He obviously loves you. He wants you to come to Middle Earth and stay in Erebor, for goodness sakes."

Sara shook her head in amusement. "Yeah, I guess." They finished stretching and headed inside the building. As they ascended the stairs Sara turned to Emma with a mischievous look on her face, "So...what about you and Kili? I don't see a braid yet, which is surprising, since he's obviously head over heels for you, chica."

Emma blushed. _**I think he is, but then again he has been acting weird lately. Oh...I don't know. Maybe I was just reading too much into everything. **_"Well, to be honest...I don't know what's going on anymore." She frowned, "He was being so loving and attentive. He even asked a few questions about how dating or 'courting' is done here. I explained it as best as I could, but I felt like I wasn't really explaining it well...so..."

"So...?" Sara prompted.

"So...I showed him a few chick flicks." She bit her lip and blushed bright red.

"Which ones?"

"Well..._How To Lose A Guy In Ten Days, Back-up Plan, The Notebook, The Lucky One..."_

Sara busted up laughing. "Emma! Oh, the poor guy. He probably didn't know how to react. Did he...say anything about the movies?"

"No, he was excited at first. He even held my hand, but then he got a strange look on his face and crossed his arms whenever I put another one on for him," she looked down at her feet. _**Geez, I probably scared him off. I know those movies aren't rated R, but they still show things in a certain way that give the idea...Oh my gosh! **_She gasped and put a hand to her mouth. "Oh my gosh! He probably thinks I expect him and I to...Oh, no! What do I do?"

She turned around on the stairs by the apartment and sat down with her head in her hands. _**I didn't even think about those "romance scenes." No wonder he's been avoiding me lately. Well, done Emma.**_

Emma felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up to see Sara trying in vain to cover up her smirk. "Em..." Sara coughed to cover up her laughter, "Em, it's okay. We'll figure something out."

"But he's been avoiding me! He barely looks at me anymore! I must have embarrassed him so badly...good Lord, I'm so stupid!"

Sara's smile grew wider and she laughed in amusement. "It's not funny, Sara!"

Sara shook her head and held her hand out to Emma. "Come on, the only thing you can really do is just face him head on. Explain to him that you aren't expecting him to do the things he saw in those films, but that you thought it would be better to see how 'dating' works in our world versus his own."

Emma heaved a heavy sigh and nodded her head. "Okay, if he'll talk to me—let alone look at me again."

Sara unlocked their door and stepped inside, with Emma following close behind. They saw the dwarves awake and enjoying a hearty meal. _**They seem much more cheerful ever since they found out they get to leave soon. **_Emma smiled and shyly waved at Ori who was looking through one of her sketchbooks. He'd asked her if he could see her drawings and she in turn looked through his own drawings. Emma's eyes swept across the kitchen and living room area, but she couldn't see Kili. Then she heard Sara laughing and turned to see her and Thorin in a private conversation. _**They really are perfect for each other...even if they argue sometimes. What was it Nana always said?...Oh! "Child, a happy couple will argue like cats and dogs, but then **__**go at it**__** like rabbits in the bedroom."**_

Emma felt her blush creeping up her cheeks and moved to take off her shoes and socks. She headed to the sink to get a glass of water.

"Lassies, what's that on yer feet?" Bofur had come up to her and Sara, pointing at their bare feet. Emma looked down at her foot and started to giggle along with Sara.

"They're tattoos, Bofur. Em, Kyra, and I each have tattoos," Sara laughed.

"How did you earn them, lass?" Dwalin's gruff voice sounded from next to Emma and she jumped slightly.

"We didn't earn them. We paid for them," Emma timidly explained.

"You mean to tell me that you can just go...commission for a tattoo anytime you want and they will just give it to you?" Dori sounded almost affronted from the idea.

Emma and Sara nodded, "Yeah, you can go pick out what you want or design it yourself if you want and they just do it," Sara continued as she reached for her water bottle from the fridge. "Kyra has the most out of all of us. She has four, while Em and I just have three."

"What do they stand for?" Thorin sounded quite intrigued about their tattoos.

"Well," Sara began, "The one on my foot is a cluster of stars. My mom was a bit of an astrologist...Oh, uh someone who studies stars. I remember being about seven years old when she took me outside late at night to watch a meteor shower. It was so beautiful. So I got the stars tattoo when I turned eighteen, in honor of my mother. And I have another tattoo along my side," she indicated with her fingers; over her workout shirt along her front hip, up around her waist, and down on the back side of her hip, "that runs along here. It's a tribal tattoo, I don't remember what it means anymore. Then all three of us have the same tattoo just under our wrist." Sara and Emma each held up their wrist to show the line of stars tattoos. "That's all I have." She smiled and leaned up to Thorin to give him a kiss. _**He looks shocked!...He must not have known she had tattoos. **_

"What do your tattoos mean, Emma?" Nori asked while he was inspecting her foot.

She giggled, "Well the one near my ankle is for my mom, too. The pink ribbon represents breast cancer awareness. That's how my mom died and it helps me remember her." She looked to see their sad faces, but she just smiled and continued, "That was before they could really figure out a cure or at least a way to fight back the cancer. Anyway, then I have another one along the front of my abs and stretches along my side," she indicated with her hand from her front right ab up to just under her chest area, "It's a butterfly with some intricate patterns around it. And then of course the wrist tattoo. We all got the same one to show our friendship and how it will last as long as the stars burn."

The dwarves nodded their heads and smiled. She felt a little uneasy about the attention on her and made to leave the room, but Fili caught the corner of her eye. He was sitting at the table, pushing his food around his plate. _**He looks sad or irritated. **_She walked over to him and he looked up at her with a weak smile. She sat across from him and gave him an encouraging smile.

"Hi, Fee. What are you up to today?"

He shrugged, "I have yet to decide what I will be doing today. Probably the same thing I've been doing and just train some more."

"You've been doing that a lot lately," she observed. He gave her a curt nod and looked back down to his uneaten food. "Is everything okay?" She placed a calming hand on his and he squeezed her hand lightly.

"Yes," he sighed, "everything is okay. I have much on my mind." She gave him a concerned look and he shook his head and smiled, "Do not worry so, namadith." He gave her smile, but he had a twinkle of mischief in his eyes, "I do believe my brother needs to speak with you...so, off you pop."

She giggled, "What does n-nama...uh...that one word mean?"

Fili laughed, "Namadith," he was laughing so hard he could hardly stop. "It is not important now, but I promise to tell you what it means...someday." He grinned at her and she playfully shoved his shoulder.

_**What a goof. Kili is so lucky to have a brother like him around. **_She headed down toward her room and gathered her things before walking back towards the bathroom. She knocked on the door and tried to stop the urge to tap her foot. _**It was hard enough sharing a bathroom with Kyra, since it takes her so long to get ready, but sharing with 15 extra people is pushing my patience for the bathroom to the limit. **_"Any day now?..." she called out and she turned to lean against the door. _**I wonder where Kili is? I didn't see him in the kitche-en! Whoa! **_The door was pulled back quickly and Emma stumbled backwards into something, or rather into someone. She turned herself around to ask what the heck was going on, but her eyes grew wide and her mouth dropped open from the sight before her. _**Oh, Lord, have mercy!**_

Kili was standing in the doorway with nothing but trousers on and he was rubbing a towel into his hair to dry off. She openly stared at his broad, muscular chest and took in the sight of it before her. _**Oh...My...Gosh! He's...he's so buff! **_Her wide eyes followed the expansive black chest hair that ghosted across his chest and trailed down to his done up pants. _**I know I'm just staring but my gosh! Look at those abs! **_She barely stopped herself when she reached out to touch his chest and a deep chuckle filled her ears. She lifted her head up to see Kili's amused face and he winked down at her.

"See something you like, love?"

"Y-yes," she breathlessly said without conviction. Her eyes grew wide and she looked up at him in horror. "I-I mean, no...I mean y-yes, but no? N-not that I was l-looking, but n-not that I wasn't looking. Wait, no I mean, yes?...Wait...What I meant to say was—" She was cut off from her ramblings by Kili's lips on hers. He pulled his arms around her small waist and pulled her closer to him. She hesitantly brought her hands up to his bare chest and could feel the soft curls under her fingertips. _**Oh...wow! I almost forgot how enticing his lips are. And his chest! Oh. My. Gosh! He's built like a wall! **_Her hands moved from his chest of their own accord to wherever they wanted, or so it seemed. One hand went up into his hair, while the other took the opportunity to drag up to his neck, over his shoulder, and down his muscular arm. _**H**__**is skin is so smooth! I'm so jealous!...Wait...Hello! Earth to Emma! You're being kissed by the most gorgeous man you've ever had the pleasure of knowing! Enjoy it! **_She smirked against his lips and nipped at his bottom lip. He let out a strangled groan and then she used her tongue to tease his mouth again. This time, he parted his lips and practically devoured her mouth with his tongue. He pulled her flush against his body and she let out a slight squeak when he lifted her off the ground. He pulled his head away from hers for some much needed air and then leaned in for a gentle and tender kiss. He set her down on the ground, but kept his arms around her. She could feel her knees buckle and she was very glad he was still holding her. _**I can't believe I turn to jelly in his arms from just a tender kiss...but it's just as passionate as our more out of control kisses. **_When Kili finally pulled back, he still held her in his arms and she looked up at him from under her lashes to see his most brilliant smile.

He leaned his head down to her forehead and they just stared at one another. "Good morning, love," his voice sounded husky and deep. _**He must have woken up just before his shower.**_

Emma smiled, "Good morning." She felt his hand come up to her cheek and a large finger tucking some of her stray hair behind her ear. "I-uh...I should get ready for the day."

He smiled and nodded his head, "Of course. I'll go get us something to eat and wait for you." He gave her a quick kiss on the lips and headed down the hall towards the kitchen.

Emma couldn't help but watch as he walked away. She tilted her head slightly and bit her bottom lip. He turned around and she let out a squeak of surprise, then hurried into the bathroom and leaned back against the door. _**Oh my goodness! What is wrong with me?! Was I really just checking him out?...That's Kyra and Sara's thing, not mine...Maybe I should take a cold shower. **_She smiled and let out a breathy laugh as she made to go get ready for the day.

_Kili_

Kili smiled to himself after he saw Emma hurry into the bathroom. _**Was she...? She was giving me a look. I guess in those 'movies' it would be called 'checking me out.' **_He came into the kitchen to see the company dispersed throughout. Some of them were gathered around the computers again, _**Watching those 'Epic Fails' videos no doubt**_, most of the company was settled around in front of the television watching "Crocodile Hunter" again, and he spied his Uncle sitting at the table eating with Sara. _**I don't think I've ever seen Uncle smile as much as he does around Sara. I wonder what she would do if I started calling her 'Aunt Sara.' **_Kili laughed silently to himself and went to his pack to pull on another tunic. Then he headed to the kitchen to grab some food for himself and Emma. He let his eyes roam around the room again, but he could not see his brother's golden hair anywhere.

"Bofur?"

"Mornin' Kili," Bofur's cheery reply came, "What can I do for ya?"

"Have you seen Fili anywhere?"

Bofur's eyes scanned the room and then Bifur spoke up from his spot in the armchair. _"He went up on the roof. Something about...getting his frustrations out."_

Kili nodded his head in understanding and made to go sit by his Uncle and Sara at the table. _**I thought for sure Fili and Kyra would have sorted things out by now. I suppose I'll have to find a way to get the two of them alone to talk. **_Kili's thoughts were interrupted by his Uncle's loud laughter.

"Good morning, Kili," Thorin smiled at him. "How do you fare this morning?"

Kili smiled back, "Good morning, Uncle. I am doing well. And how are you two doing?" He wiggled his eyebrows, "Do I get the honor in calling Sara my Aunt just yet?" He laughed when he saw Sara practically choke on her morning coffee and Thorin's flustered look on his face.

Thorin whacked him on the back of the head and gave him a stern look. _**No matter how old I get, that still hurts. **_"Watch your tongue, Kili," Thorin reprimanded him.

Kili rubbed the back of his head, "I will...I'm sorry, Sara." He looked up to see that she had a blush on her cheeks and a small smile on her face. _**Hmm...she's considered it.**_

"That's okay, Kili. No worries," she looked fleetingly at Thorin and then back down to her cup of coffee. _**Oh, yes. She will be my Aunt by the time this quest is through. That much is certain.**_

"Where is your brother?" Thorin's blue eyes scanned the room as he spoke.

Kili sighed, "He's up on the roof."

"Again?" Thorin gave Kili a concerned look.

Kili nodded, "Yes, but don't worry, Uncle. I think I have a plan to turn things around. He'll be his normal self in no time." Kili gave him a wide smile, but Thorin merely raised a brow at him.

"Kili..." Thorin warned.

"Don't worry, Uncle. I won't cause too much trouble," Kili let out a booming laugh and slapped his thigh with his large hand. He started to dig in to his food.

"You and trouble seem to be synonymous, Kee," a gentle voice called out from behind him. He turned around to see Emma with a smile on her face, but started to blush when he saw her outfit for the day. She was wearing a blue/green shirt that matched the color of her eyes—only the sleeves were cut off—her pants were a dark tan color, but they were cut off above her thighs. Kili's eyes widened at seeing so much of her skin and he felt his cheeks flush with color. _**She's not going out in that, is she?!**_

Emma flipped her long blonde hair back off of her shoulders and gave him a wink. "Besides," she continued, "You wouldn't be you if there wasn't a little bit of trouble." She giggled and sat down next to him and Sara.

_**She cannot truly be considering wearing that out in public! Not that she doesn't look...beautiful, she looks beautiful in anything! Even if she was in rags with dirt on her face, she would still be the most beautiful woman I have ever laid eyes on.**_

"Is...is that what you're wearing today?" Kili tentatively asked.

She looked over at him and smiled, "Yes. It's nice out today. I don't want to get a farmer's tan." Her laugh filled the room and caught the attention of the other dwarves.

"Lassie," Gloin's rough voice called out to her, "Where's the rest of your pants?!"

"And your sleeves?!" Dori's worried facial expression showed how scandalized he was. He tried to cover up Ori's eyes with his hands.

Sara and Emma giggled their reactions. "It's okay, you guys. This shirt is called a tank top," Sara smiled at Ori—who was writing down everything he could while avoiding Dori's hands—"and these 'pants' are called shorts. Women and sometimes men, wear these kinds of clothing when the weather gets warm outside. It keeps you covered without getting excessively hot."

The dwarves reluctantly nodded their heads in acceptance. _**Doesn't mean Emma has to wear them for other men to see. **_Kili could feel a scowl on his face. _**No, I do not want other men to see Emma, MY Emma, like that.**_

"Perhaps you should go change," he blatantly stated. Emma turned back to face him and she had her brows scrunched up in confusion.

"Why? I always wear stuff like this during the summer."

"I don't think it's appropriate for a lady to wear."

She grinned and raised a brow at him, "Good thing I'm not much of a lady then. Even 'ladies' in our world wear things like this during the summer time. You all wouldn't believe the kind of swimwear that is accepted nowadays."

"What's swimwear?" Ori's shy voice sounded slightly muffled from Dori still trying to cover his eyes. "Brother, do stop that! If the girls are comfortable being dressed like so, then I don't think we should be embarrassed by it."

All of the company looked around at each other in shock. Ori is hardly ever one to defy his brother's wishes or worries, but to hear him speak to boldly was rather shocking. Emma and Sara smiled at him and nodded their heads.

"Ori's right, you know," Sara beamed, "If we are comfortable wearing what we're wearing, you all should be too. What Emma is wearing is actually considered fairly modest in today's society. You would all die of shock from some of the things people wear...or don't wear nowadays."

Emma giggled, "And swimwear, Ori, is clothing that people wear to cover themselves up to go swimming." Ori smiled at her and continued writing it all down.

"All right, lassies," Balin conceded, "If you are comfortable and say that this is actually a form of modesty, then we will not make such a fuss. Once we are in Middle Earth, though…we will need to educate you in what is modest or not. As long as you are all willing to try, we will not complain." He smiled at them both when they nodded their heads and turned to speak to his brother once more.

"So, that's it?!" _**By Mahal, I sound more panicked than I meant to. **_"We're just going to...look the other way and allow them to wear whatever they want, even though it's considered..."

"Considered what, Kili?" His eyes widened when he heard the dark tone of Sara's voice. She was glaring at him from across the table and her arms were crossed over her chest. He looked to his right to see Emma had mirrored Sara's actions, but her eyes—which were usually full of happiness and laughter—had taken on a darker look. _**What did I say?**_

He was about to ask what was wrong, when he felt a thwack on the back of his head. He looked to the right to see his Uncle giving him a disapproving look.

"What? What did I do?" he rubbed the back of his head and shrugged his shoulders.

Emma got up from the table, "I'm not very hungry. I'll see you all later today." She headed down the hall towards her room and slammed the door.

Kili felt another smack on the back of his head and looked to his right to see it was Sara who had done it this time. "Idiot! Now she's embarrassed! Go apologize, now."

"But I—"

"Now, Kili!"

_**Mahal, she sounds like my mother. **_He nodded his head and got up from the table, making his way towards Emma's room. He knocked on the door and scuffled his feet against the floor.

"Emma?"

There was no answer. _**Why must women be so sensitive? I just don't want other men to look at her in a certain way...Maybe I should explain that dwarves are jealous and protective creatures.**_

The door opened a crack and he could see she was upset. _**I made her cry? Kili, you truly are an idiot. **_"What do you want, Kili?" her voice sounded dejected and she gave him a hard look.

"Can I talk to you? Privately?"

She gave a stiff nod and opened the door, moving aside so he could come in, then shut the door. She crossed the room and sat at the edge of her bed, while Kili stood there awkwardly, shuffling his feet. _**I feel like a dwarfling again.**_

"Emma, I—"

"You what, Kili?" she snapped. Her voice was strong and sounded angry to his ears. "You want me to change my clothes to make you feel 'comfortable' or perhaps you would like to lock me in a room and never let me out in daylight again?!"

Both of his eyebrows shot up at the harshness of her voice. "No. No, I wanted to apologize. I know that there are differences in our worlds and cultures, but you must understand." She gave him a look, "Dwarves are jealous creatures and we are very protective of our women. It's in our nature. I can't really change that fact...I'm sorry if I embarrassed you—"

"Not 'if' you embarrassed me. You DID embarrass me, Kili!" she got up from the bed and stalked towards him. "After everyone else accepted our differences and Sara and I agreed to making changes once we are in Middle Earth, you," she smacked him hard in the chest, _**Ouch! I'm surprised such a small woman could be so strong. **_"You, argue over it! Are you saying that I look like a prostitute?!"

"What?! No!"

"Well, then what is it?! Because to me it seems like...it seems like you find me disgusting by whatever is is I'm wearing." She turned around and hung her head, "I-I just wanted to look pretty today...for you."

His eyes grew wide and his throat went dry, "You-you think I don't find you beautiful? I told you that I thought you were the most beautiful woman I have ever known." He gently placed his hands on her shoulders and turned her around to face him. He could have kicked himself when he saw tears in her eyes. _**Well done, Kili. **_"Emma," he lifted her head up with one finger and wiped away a stray tear with his thumb. "You are beautiful and I am...I am honored that you wanted to dress a certain way just for me." He sighed and leaned his head down to touch foreheads together. "I am sorry. I am still not used to your culture and I did not mean to embarrass you. You do look very beautiful today. You look beautiful everyday." He smirked when he saw a ghost of a smile on her lips and the pink taint on her cheeks. "You could be covered in mud, dressed in rags, and be as big as Bombur and I would still think of you as the most beautiful woman in the world."

Emma let out a small laugh and sniffed. "I don't think I ever want to be as big as Bombur."

He laughed, "Good. I wouldn't love you any less, but I like the size you are now. Even if you are too skinny by dwarvish standards to be considered healthy...Don't worry I'm not complaining." She shook her head and let out another watery laugh. He brought her close to him and embraced her. He smiled when he felt her wrap her arms around his torso and snuggled into his chest. He kissed the top of her head and laid his cheek on her hair. He breathed in deeply and he could smell the sweet aroma of orange blossoms.

"Thank you, Kili," her voice was soft and gentle.

"For what?" He pulled back slightly and could see her eyes light up with a smile.

"For explaining to me why you felt the way you did. I'm sorry I got angry at you, but now I understand your worries." She bit her lip. "Did I hurt you? When I hit you on the chest?"

Kili smiled and let out a loud laugh, "Mahal, no." She narrowed her eyes at him, "Well, maybe...you're pretty strong for such a petite woman." He winked at her and listened to the joy of her laughter.

"I'm glad...but I'd still like to make up for it," she leaned up on her tip-toes to kiss him.

_**In Durin's name, I swear Emma Carter is the most perfect woman. **_He smiled into the kiss. It was gentle and sweet, just like Emma. _**My Emma...I still need to have that discussion with her. **_His thoughts came to a standstill when he felt her tongue sweep across him bottom lip. He parted his mouth and she pushed her tongue through to explore his mouth. He brushed his tongue against her own and they danced along each other. Entwining and stroking, while his arms held her tighter to him. He had one arm wrapped around her waist, squeezing her side gently and the other arm seemed to have a mind of its own. His hand stroked along Emma's bare arm up to her shoulder, along her neck and cupped her face gently. _**Her skin is so soft! Her lips are perfect! **_He felt her hands upon his chest; one hand circling patterns along his tunic and the other had a firm grip on the fabric, pulling him closer to her. He moved his mouth from her lips and placed gentle kisses along her jawline. He heard her gasp once he reached the sensitive skin just under her ear and then nipped and tasted her skin with his tongue. She let out a small moan and both of her hands gripped tighter to the front of his tunic. He smirked and made another line of kisses along her slender neck, down to her bare shoulder, and then back up to her jaw. "Kee," she sighed. He kissed her gently on the lips this time and wrapped both of his arms possessively around her waist. He could feel her tremble in his arms from just a gentle kiss and pulled back slightly, breaking the kiss. Her eyes were still closed and her lips were slightly swollen and pink. Her cheeks were red from blushing and she still had a hold of his shirt.

He stroked a finger down her cheek and her eyes fluttered open to look up at him. "Emma, you are the most perfect woman in the world to me and..." He looked down to his left and placed his hand in his pocket. He gripped the bead sitting in there. _**Just tell her...Tell her you love her and that you would like to court her...Just do it.**_

"Kili?" Emma placed a small hand on his face and turned his head to look at her.

"Emma, I lo—"

"Emma!" Kyra's voice rang out loud and clear and loud pounding on the door followed.

Kili groaned in frustration and Emma giggled at him. She pecked him on the lips and moved to open the door. "Hi, Kyra. What's up?"

"Hey...OH...was I interrupting something?" Kyra looked between the two and smirked knowingly.

"What?...Oh, uh...no...I mean yes, but...no?" Emma didn't sound too certain to Kili either. She turned around to look at him and he smiled at her with a nod.

"Sorry, guys. I promise to be quick. Em, can I borrow your beige tank top? You know the one with the three bold brown stripes on the front?"

"Oh! Yeah! I know which one you're referring to," Emma walked over to her closet and pulled out the shirt for Kyra. "Here you go."

"Thanks Em! You're a lifesaver! Sorry, Kee!"

Kili waved his hand at her dismissively and laughed. She gave him a wink and mouthed to him, once Emma's back was turned, "Have you asked yet?"

He subtlety shook his head and she frowned before pulling a face and mouthed, "Oops, sorry." Then she left the room and closed the door.

_**I'm going to get her back for that. Hmm...**_

"Kili? What was it you were going to say?" Emma took hold of his hand and looked up at him with concern in her eyes.

He smiled and tucked a stray of hair behind her ear, before her leaned down and kissed her. "Nothing, love. It can wait. I did want to ask you something, though."

She smiled, "Oh, okay."

"Emma...I don't know how this works in your world or if I'm asking correctly, but..." _**Just do it...**_"Would you like to go out on a 'date' thing...with me?" _**Well that sounded stupid. She'll probably say no.**_

Emma beamed up at him and squealed, "Yes! Of course I will! I would love to go out a date...thing with you!" She leapt into his arms and hugged him tight. He wrapped his arms around her, lifting her into the air and laughed.

"Really? Great! Um…tonight?" he looked into her eyes as he set her back down on the ground.

"Tonight," she kissed him and held his hand, pulling him behind her as they exited the room. Kili walked Emma to the front door and she surprised him with a long kiss on the mouth, before leaving for work.

Kili sighed and smiled as he shut the door. _**I'll tell her tonight that I love her and ask to court her and then...then everything will be perfect!...Why do I get the feeling I'm being watched?**_ Kili turned around to see all of the company, excluding his brother, smirking at him and tossing coin bags between one another.

"I knew ya had it in ya laddie!" Bofur winked at him with a laugh. Everyone else joined in.

"Did you ask her on a date, Kili?" Sara came up to him and was practically bouncing on her toes.

"Yes, and she said yes."

Sara squealed and gave him a hug, "Have fun tonight..." her voice dipped lower than normal, "but if you break her heart...I'll kill you and bury you in a ditch somewhere." She smiled at him and walked off to her room.

_**Survival tip number one: don't anger Sara, especially when it comes to Emma...she'll kill you.**_

Kili shook his head and with flushed cheeks head towards the hallway and was about to enter the study to find another book—one of Emma's favorites—to read when...

"Psst! Hey, Kee...come here!"

"Kyra?" He looked down the hall to see Kyra's head, sopping wet, poking out of the bathroom door. He smiled with amusement, "What is it?"

"Did you ask her on a date?"

"Yes, she said yes she would go. I might need your help though."

"Of course! What are friends for!"

"Brilliant!" He turned to leave.

"Hey, wait don't go!" Kyra's voice sounded desperate.

"What? What's wrong?"

"I left some stuff in my room and I'm already sopping wet...can you guard the door until I get back? I won't be long."

"I suppose...Since you are helping me, I could do that for you."

"Thanks, Kee!" Kyra stepped out wrapped in a towel and closed the bathroom door. She pecked him on the cheek, "You're a peach, buddy!"

"I'm a fruit?"

She laughed, "No...It means you're sweet...cause you know, peaches are a sweet fruit?"

"OH! Nah, go on." He waved his hand at her and nodded for her to go to her room.

They smiled at each other and Kyra hurried to duck into her room before anyone else showed up. Kili stood guard in front of the bathroom and could hear the water running still. _**Hmm...she must be almost through with her shower. I still need to get back at her for interrupting my moment with Emma. But what could I do?**_

"Kee? What are you doing?" Kili turned to the left to see his brother had finally come back inside from the roof. "Why are you standing in front of the bathroom?"

"Oh, I—" _**Wait a minute! **_Kili observed his brother. Fili was undoing his braids and had pulled his tunic off. _**He needs to take a shower...Oh! This is too perfect! **_"I was merely getting your shower ready, brother. I figured you would be in soon and took the liberty of guarding the door so no one else would come in."

Fili gave him a hard look. His 'I know you're up to something' look. "How did you know I would be..."

Kili waved his hand, "Call it a brother's intuition. Go on. The water is warm and you'll feel better after a shower." Kili grinned, _**Plus, you'll get a little surprise once I let Kyra in.**_

Fili made to enter the bathroom, "Kee, what ever it is you are planning...don't." Kili nodded his head and Fili entered the room. Kili noticed he didn't lock the door.

_**Oh this will be great! I'll get back at Kyra and finally get those two to talk to each other! What was the saying Sara told us the other night...OH! Killing two birds with one stone. **_

Kili stood in front of the door for another couple of minutes and saw Kyra poke her head out of her room. "Hey, Kee!"

He looked in her direction. "Yes?"

"Is the coast clear? Am I good to dash in there?"

Kili smiled with a nod and held the door open for her to hurry into. Kyra smiled and swiftly scooted by him; Kili gently closed the door and could hear the 'click' sound from the other side. He stood his ground for a while longer and pressed his ear up to the door. _**Three...two...one...**_

"AAAAAHHHHH!" Fili and Kyra's voices rang out loud and clear.

Kili was doubled over from laughter and he slapped his thigh. "Oh...That was too perfect! They fell for it! I wish I could have seen their faces!"

"KILI!" His eyes widened at the anger he heard from them both screaming his name and nonchalantly made his way down to the kitchen to _finally_ get something to eat.

—

_Author__'__s Note: _Okay so what did ya'll think? Was it what you were expecting? Not what you were expecting? Please let me know! I love reviews! I try to answer all of them and I've even been using some of your ideas for my chapters! Up next: Fili and Kyra have an extremely awkward moment…obviously, Kyra helps Kili get ready for his date with Emma—but payback is a bitch when you deal with Kyra—I mentioned a Ren. Fair in the future from last time, and last but not least: Emma gets semi-violent and finally knocks some sense into Sara and Kyra! *Squeal* I'm already going over the next chapter—adding some fluff and awesome moments with the company—it should be up later this week. I'm so excited for you all to read it! Please leave me a review/comment/critique and thank you to all who have favorite/followed my story and me! TTFN!


	14. Extreme Awkwardness

_Kili stood in front of the door for another couple of minutes and saw Kyra poke her head out of her room. "Hey, Kee!"_

_He looked in her direction. "Yes?"_

_"Is the coast clear? Am I good to dash in there?"_

_Kili smiled with a nod and held the door open for her to hurry into. Kyra smiled and swiftly scooted by him; Kili gently closed the door and could hear the 'click' sound from the other side. He stood his ground for a while longer and pressed his ear up to the door. __**Three...two...one...**_

_"AAAAAHHHHH!" Fili and Kyra's voices rang out loud and clear._

_Kili was doubled over from laughter and he slapped his thigh. "Oh...That was too perfect! They fell for it! I wish I could have seen their faces!"_

_"KILI!" His eyes widened at the anger he heard from them both screaming his name and nonchalantly made his way down to the kitchen to finally get something to eat._

—

_Kyra_

As soon as Kyra heard Kili close the door behind her, she quickly flipped the lock on it. _**Kili is a **__**angel**__** for **__**guarding**__** the bathroom for me. That would have been way more embarrassing to be locked out in the hallway with nothing but a towel on. Hmm...I wonder what his plans are for his big 'date' with Emma? I'm sure it will be good, but I should double check on that punk to make sure it's 'Emma approved.'**_

Kyra shook her head with a smile on her face and headed for the bathroom sink. She set her forgotten bellybutton ring on her pile of clothes, along with her moccasins and then turned to head for the shower. She looked down on the floor to see a pair of pants lying about haphazardly. _**Where did those come from?...Were those there when I left?...Hmm...they were probably there before I got in here. Those damn **__**dwarves**__**! They always make a fucking mess in the bathroom. Why are men all the same? Gonna have to have a little 'chat' about picking up after themselves...apparently they're just as bad in other worlds too when it comes to leaving clothes everywhere. God, men!**_

Kyra rolled her eyes and set her towel off to the side, then slipped into the shower once again. _**Did**__** I leave the curtain tucked back when I left? **_She shrugged her shoulders. Then she pulled the curtain taut and turned around to face the shower head. What she saw made her eyes grow wide with shock. _**Oh my God! Why is Fili in the fucking shower?! **_She noticed he was just as shocked as she was.

"AAAAAHHHHH!" They both screamed and turned away from each other immediately.

"What the fuck are you doing in here?!" Kyra shrieked.

"I could ask you the same thing, woman!" Fili growled.

"Kili said he would watch the bathroom so I could sneak out to grab something from my room! Why the hell are you in here?!"

"Kili told me he had started a shower for me..."

Kyra could hear Fili's growl grow louder. _**That son of a bitch!**_

"KILI!" they both yelled out in anger. _**I'm going to kill him! I swear to God, I'm going to kill him!**_

Behind her she could hear Fili cursing in Khudzul. _**Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God! This is so embarrassing! I'm naked in the shower with Fili, who is also naked! What the fuck?! I have the worst luck in the world...Why did it have to be Fili of all people...Fili!**_

"Any suggestions of what we should do?" Fili sounded embarrassed and angry. _**I don't blame him. If I were him, I'd go kick my brother's ass for pulling a stunt like this on me.**_

"Well, I was in here first, so by that logic YOU should leave."

Fili gave a breathy chuckle, "You are joking? You left and then came back. By that logic it is YOU who should leave."

Kyra huffed, "Shit! Okay, okay, I'll think of something." _**God, this is so frustrating and embarrassing! **_"Look, I really need to get this damn conditioner out of my hair. Is there anyway we could trade places? I'm almost done, then I can just run to my room to get changed and—"

"The other rooms are being used or so I was told before I came in here."

"What?! Why?!"

"Since you and Sara are still here, the other members of the company felt it would be more prudent to change in privacy."

"Oh! So now you all decide to change in rooms to preserve your fucking modesty, but you never did that all those days it was just me here!"

"Watch your mouth, woman! Never talk about my kin like that!"

"Ugh...fine! I'm sorry. Can we...can we just trade places now. Then I'll jump out and you can finish getting your shower or whatever."

There was a long pause. _**Seriously?! Any day now, princeling! **_"Very well. How do you suggest we trade places?"

"On the count of three follow along the wall to your left, until you hit the other wall..."

"Why must I hit the wall?"

Kyra heaved a frustrated sigh, "Not literally! Just until you get to the other side?"

"All right. You will follow along the curtain?"

"Yes. Keep your eyes closed or I'll kick your ass."

"As you wish. Ready?"

"Ready. One."

"Two."

"Three." Kyra started to move to her left following the curtain and keeping as close to it as possible, so as not to accidentally touch Fili. _**Oh my God! This is so stupid! **_Once she felt she was under the water and touching the opposite wall she called out to Fili.

"Did you reach the other end?"

"Yes."

"Good. Now just keep your eyes closed. I have to turn around to wash the soap out of my hair." She could hear him start to object, "Don't worry, your royal wetness, I'll keep my eyes shut too."

Fili sighed, "Fine."

With her eyes shut tight, she turned around and ran her hands through her hair to rinse the conditioner out. _**Just be quick and no one will ever have to know. Kili better be hiding if he knows what's good for him. I swear I'll kill that motherfucker! **_Kyra felt the wall to her right where she knew her body soap was and hurried to lather it into her skin. As she was rinsing, she slipped a bit and caught herself with the side of the wall and the curtain. In doing so, she ended up opening her eyes. Her breath caught in her throat and she could feel her jaw drop. _**Wow! His back muscles are so defined! **_Kyra couldn't pull her eyes away from the man before her. She let her eyes rove over his back and take in every muscle she could see. His arms were pushed up against the wall and looked, to her, very well toned. _**Holy shit, he is ripped! He's just standing there and I can see his biceps bulging! **_Kyra couldn't help but allow her eyes to look further down and tilted her head to the side as she checked out his backside. _**Damn! He has a nice ass! Never actually seen a naked man's ass before...but shit, son! **_She bit her lip and continued to shamelessly assess the body of the man she refused to have feelings for. She shook her head and closed her eyes again. Then turned to face the wall once more. _**What the hell am I doing?! Just sitting here, naked!...checking out a sexy-ass man who also happens to be naked!...What is wrong with me?**_

"Kyra? Are you finished?"

Kyra took a deep breath, "Y-yeah, I'm...I'm done." _**Just get to the other side, Kyra and you can walk away from this extremely awkward situation.**_

_Fili_

Fili stood there with his eyes closed, waiting as patiently as he could. _**Aule, this woman takes forever. How long does it take to rinse soap out of one's hair? I'm going to kill Kili when I get out of here. I knew he was up to something and I still fell for his idiotic trick!**_

"Okay, we can...uh...trade places now. Just follow back to your right."

"On three?"

"Y-yes. Ready?"

"Ready. One."

"Two."

"Three." Fili kept his eyes closed and felt along the wall back to his right. _**Mahal, this is humiliating. **_He stumbled a bit when he hit a slippery spot on the tub and regrettably opened his eyes to catch himself. Kyra was just behind him, clinging to the curtain as she moved and Fili happened to look back over his shoulder to see her small figure. He tried and failed to swallow the lump that came to his throat as he looked at her appealing figure. _**Mahal...she's flawless. **_He could see her slender form and the gentle curves of her body. He could see the tattoo on her back; it ran from across one side of her lower back to the other and then in the middle it stretched up in between her shoulder blades. _**Get a hold of yourself, Fili. **_He shook his head and berated himself for acting so shameful towards the woman he loved. He finally reached the other side of the tub, waiting for Kyra to announce she was getting out, and he smirked to himself.

"I see that Sara and Emma were telling the truth about your tattoos."

"Wha—? AAHH!" He could hear Kyra slip in the tub and she screamed as she started to fall.

Fili whipped around, "Kyra!" and reached both hands out to catch her around her waist before she fell face first onto the floor. In all the confusion, Kyra had somehow gotten turned around to face him and with the momentum of catching her, she was pulled flushed up against his body. _**Oh, Mahal...That was not what I intended. **_He could see Kyra's eyes wide with embarrassment and fear. Her hands had come up to his bare shoulders and he had encircled her waist with his arms. They merely stood there, wide-eyed; both naked and both completely red in the face. Their bodies pulled tight to each other and each holding their breath.

"Kyra, I-I'm sorry. I...uh...I didn't want you t-to fall. I-I was just trying to—" Fili was finding it very difficult to concentrate on completing sentences with Kyra's soft body pressed up against him.

"It's fine," she snapped. Her eyes narrowed slightly and grew dark with rage. "Let. Me. Go...Now."

Fili nodded his head and let her go. They closed their eyes while they hurried to cover themselves and turn away from each other. As soon as he heard the shower curtain open and close, Fili rested his forehead against the wall under the streaming water. _**Take deep breaths. Inhale and exhale...it's not helping. **_Fili cursed and reached over to turn off the hot water and turn up the cold water. _**Maybe that will help. If anything I could at least try to drown myself from all of this embarrassment. Why did it have to be Kyra?...**_

"Fili?" Kyra's voice sounded timid and uncertain. _**She almost sounds like Emma...**_

"Y-yes?"

"I...uh...that is to say...I..."

"You what?...Kyra?"

"I just wanted to say thank you for catching me, I guess. I'm sorry for this whole...mess."

Fili sighed and shook his head, "I would never let you fall, Kyra. I too am sorry for this embarrassing situation."

He could hear Kyra shuffling around the bathroom. Fili finished washing himself under the constant cold stream of water. _**I wonder how much longer I have to stay in here. I really need to get out of here and kill my brother.**_

"You...uh...you can come out. I'll just...uh...I'll just close my eyes and face away so you can get out and put some pants on or something." Kyra still sounded unlike herself and it unnerved Fili for some unknown reason.

_**She always seems so sure of herself...We will need to talk about this before we leave the room. **_"Thank you, I'll get out now." He turned the faucet off and pushed his wet hair back from his face. He then poked his head out from behind the curtain to make certain that Kyra was doing as she said. Indeed, she was facing the door and tapping her fingers against her leg. He could see she was wearing cut off pants and a light tan colored sleeveless shirt. _**Why must women dress so bizarre in this world. Not that she doesn't look attractive...Ugh...get dressed, have a talk, and then go kill Kili. **_He reached for the towel he set aside earlier and dried himself off as best he could in the shower. Then he wrapped it around his waist and stepped out from the shower, _**Trousers**__**, trousers...where are my...oh, there they are. **_He leaned down to pick up his trousers and turned away from Kyra to hurry and pull them on. Once his pants were tied up he turned around to face Kyra.

"I'm...I'm dressed," he shrugged. _**Better get this over with...**_

Kyra tentatively turned around to face him and he could see her eyes widen with awe; her blue orbs concentrating on his chest area. Fili simply raised an eyebrow and gave her a light-hearted smirk.

"Do you see something you like?" he joking teased.

Kyra bit her lip and pointedly looked away, focusing much too hard on trying to comb out her hair. "No," she scoffed and her could hear her grunt when she tried to pull her comb through her hair.

Fili chuckled and shook his head, "Here," he offered, "let me help you."

Kyra turned to face him with an uncertain gleam in her eyes, "Uh...what?"

He took a step towards her and reached out to take the comb from her. She flinched away. "Kyra, I'm not going to hurt you or touch you inappropriately. I am merely offering to help you with your hair."

"Oh," she cast her eyes downward, deep in thought, "Um, sure, I guess that would be okay." She handed him the comb and he strode towards her and turned to face her hair. He brought the comb up and gently pulled it through her long brown hair. _**This reminds me of all those times I had to help Kili with his hair when he was little. Mum always was amazed that I could tame his wild locks. "You, my son, have magic hands, just like your father." **_Fili smiled to himself at the memory and he looked towards the mirror to see that Kyra had a slight smile on her face and her cheeks were flushed pink.

"There," he took a step back to see her hair cascading down her lithe form and then back up to the mirror to see her reaction. "All done."

Kyra ran a hand through her hair easily and looked up at him in the mirror, "How—"

"My mother always told me that I had inherited my father's 'magic hands' and could tame even the wildest of Kili's hair on a good day."

Kyra let out a small laugh and then bit her lip. _**I wonder what she's thinking. **_"Could you...uh...could you braid my hair? Just in one big braid in the back. My hair's gotten so damn long, I can hardly do it myself anymore."

Fili's eyebrows shot up. _**She wants me to...braid her hair? If she was a dwarf she would understand how intimate that task is. Then again...I've seen her with a single braid in her hair before...Oh!...**_

Fili swallowed the lump in his throat and nodded his head. He ran his fingers through her hair, gently and started to put a simple, yet intricate single braid into her long brown hair. _**She's blushing! Does she know what this means?...Or is she trying to tease me?**_

He almost regretted that it didn't take him long to finish off her braid. "Do you have something to tie it off with?"

Kyra half-turned to look at him and offered him a kind of rubber tie for her hair. He finished placing it in and stood off to the side as he watched her admire his work.

"Wow," she breathed, "It looks beautiful. Thank you." She turned to look up at him. For a moment, he could almost see a spark in her eyes. The same look that he had seen in the portrait of her and the older gentleman in her room. _**Her eyes are so full of life.**_

"You're," he cleared his throat, "You're welcome." Fili barely took notice of how close he and Kyra had ended up standing to one another. He was so close to her, he could make out the specks of grey in her sapphire eyes. They held eye contact and leaned towards each other. He could feel her breath against his lips and closed his eyes, _**Perhaps this time she will give me a chance...**_Their lips barely brushed against one another, when a loud pounding on the door startled them away from one another.

"Who is it?!" Kyra shouted.

"Come on, Kyra!" Nori's voice hollered back in return, "I need the bathroom at some point today!"

Fili turned around to pull his tunic over his head and then faced Kyra again. _**Impeccable timing, Nori. You and my brother must be related by that standard. Always interrupting at the worst possible time.**_

"All right, all right! Keep your pants on!" her cheeks were red and she was cursing under her breath.

"How do you propose we get out of here without everyone seeing us?" he whispered.

"Uh," she stuttered, "W-we could...maybe you could...shit!"

"Tell him Kili has some pipe weed in his pack that he could nick and that by the time he gets back, you'll be out of the bathroom." _**Kili loves his pipe weed almost as much as his bow and arrows...almost as much as he does Emma.**_

Kyra laughed, "Awesome, but I still have an idea of how to get back at your brother."

Fili shook his head with an amused smile on his face, while Kyra repeated to Nori what he told her to do. She leaned her ear against the door and nodded.

"He's gone. Let's get out of here."

Kyra poked her head out the door and signaled to him to go on out. She shut the door behind her and headed for her room.

"Kyra?"

"Hmm?"

"Could we talk? Privately?"

She nodded her head and tilted it towards her room. He opened the door for her and then stepped in behind her, shutting the door gently behind himself.

"So, what's up?" Kyra asked as she sat down on the edge of her bed.

_**What does that mean? **_"Uh...the ceiling is up, Kyra. But what does that have to do with having a private conversation?"

Kyra laughed, "No, it means 'what's going on? or what do you need?'" She shook her head, still laughing at the misunderstanding.

"Oh. I wondered if we could talk about what happened in the bathroom."

Kyra groaned, "Do we really need to? We could just pretend it never happened and move on, ya know?"

"Kyra, we must set things straight and then you can go find Kili and kill him. Just be sure to resurrect him once you're through, so that I get an opportunity to kill him as well."

Kyra laughed, "Deal. Okay, so the whole bathroom thing...What did you want to say about it?"

_**What indeed. **_"I simply wanted to apologize again and let you know that I would never have—"

He stopped abruptly when he felt a small, slender hand in his own large hand. Kyra had reached up, with a smile on her face, and squeezed his hand. "It's okay, Fili. I know you wouldn't have ever done anything like that. I knew your brother was a bit of a troublemaker and now...now I really know he is."

Fili smiled and let out a small laugh. He squeezed her hand and his voice grew serious, "Kyra? Why did you want me to braid your hair?"

Kyra's eyes grew wide for a second, but then narrowed the next. She released his hand and crossed her arms. _**What did I say? **_"I had you do that because..." she sighed, "I had heard from Balin that braiding is done between family members, close friends, and lovers. We're obviously not family and there is no way in hell we will be lovers—"

Fili sighed and cast his eyes out to the window to take in what little scenery he could. _**So, we will never be anything more than...what? What are we then? I have deep feelings and admiration for her. I'm in love with her for Mahal's sake and yet...**_

"What are we then?" Fili had to know. He had to hear it from her.

"Well, if you would like...we could start over and be friends?" Kyra stood up from the bed and came to stand just before him. Her eyes were looking up at him, almost pleading. "I know that we got off to a bad start and then there were the two 'incidents,'" _**Ah, yes the kisses. We almost shared a third, but that is not something friends do. **_"Fili, it's not that you're not a great guy...you are. I just..." she sighed, "After Cameron, I find I have trouble trusting the opposite gender unless they're homosexual."

Fili's eyes widen, "You have friends who enjoy the company of those of the same gender?" _**I remember that from one of the movies we watched.**_

Kyra laughed, "Yes. They're sweet and I love them all to death because I know they would never hurt me. I know you would never hurt me Fili, but I just need some time...I guess?" She let out a heavy sigh and looked down to her fidgeting fingers, "If I'm being honest, I'm still a little hesitant of going to Middle Earth. I know I'll love it there...but still. From the stories Dwalin told me about the creatures that are there and the fucking battles he's seen...I'm..."

"You're what?" He reached a hand up to tilt her head back to face him and he could see unshed tears in her eyes. "Kyra?"

"I'm scared," she whispered. "I know how to survive in the woods for camping trips, but to survive in a world like yours...that scares the hell out of me. I could really use a friend I can rely on to help me, teach me how to survive in a world like that."

Fili tentatively reached his arms out and pulled Kyra slowly towards him. He smiled when she accepted the hug. He kissed the top of her head, "Kyra, I promise I will teach you everything you need to learn to survive in Middle Earth. If it's friendship you seek," he held her back slightly to look into her eyes, "Then it's a friendship you shall have." _**Even if it will cause me heartache...I'd rather have her close as a friend than nothing else.**_

"Thanks, Fili," she gave him a brilliant smile.

He smiled back at her, "Call me Fee." _**And perhaps one day this friendship will grow to be something more.**_

_Thorin_

_"With the Gardiners they were always on the most intimate terms. Darcy, as well as Elizabeth, really loved them; and they were both ever sensible of the warmest gratitude towards the persons who, by bringing her into Derbyshire, had been the means of uniting them." _Thorin closed the book and held it in his hands.

_**Sara was right. 'Pride and Prejudice' is quite a novel to read. Darcy and Elizabeth remind me much of Fili and Kyra. Perhaps I should take some time to speak with Fili about this whole...relationship or if they plan on establishing a relationship. **_Thorin chuckled to himself, _**Charles and Jane remind me much of Kili and Emma. They are perfect for each other.**_

Thorin had taken the opportunity over the last few days to read one of Sara's favorite novels. She had told him that the novel was amazing and that the movie was one of her favorites. She planned on showing him the movie tonight, after their 'dinner date' up on the roof. _**I look forward to spending time with her. I cannot go by a single minute without Sara entering my thoughts. I still find it hard to believe that I am courting her. **_He was pulled from his musings, when he heard the office door open and slam shut. He looked to see Kili leaning against the door and looking around frantically.

"Kili? What are you do—"

"SHH! Uncle!" Kili whispered, "He'll find me!" Kili darted behind the couch on the opposite side of the room. "You never saw me. I was never here."

"What in Durin's name...boy, what are you doing? What did you do?"

"KILI!" Fili's voice rang out loud and clear from the hallway. _**Mahal, give me patience. **_Fili burst into the room, searching frantically for his brother. "Uncle? Have you seen Kili?"

"What do you need of him? What did he do now?" Thorin sighed and rubbed his temples with his fingers.

"Although I'd like to kill the little..." Fili clenched his fists and unclenched them with a sigh, "I actually need to thank him."

This piqued Thorin's interest. "What do you need to thank him for?"

"If it wasn't for his little prank, Kyra and I would have never of formed a friendship."

Thorin raised a brow, "Friendship? Fili come sit down." He gestured to the couch that his other nephew was currently hiding behind. _**This will be good for Kili to hear. Then maybe he won't fear his brother's wrath. **_Fili did as he was told and looked expectantly at him.

"Fili, I am glad that you and Kyra are on speaking terms and have formed a friendship. However, I have seen the way you look at her and her at you...Is friendship really all you desire? You know that once a dwarf loves they only love once."

Fili ran a hand through his golden hair and then started to twist his mustache braid, a trait he showed when nervous or in deep thought. "Uncle, I will not deny that I do not desire only a friendship with Kyra. I...I am in love with her, but today she explained to me why she is hesitant to have a relationship once more."

"Ah, Cameron," he heard Fili let out a low growl at the name. _**I remember Sara speaking about that man. The things he did to abuse Kyra and what he had intended to do to her all along...Men are a disgusting race when it comes to how they treat their women. I suppose it would make sense for Kyra to want to establish a friendship before attempting any kind of relationship. **_"I understand." He smiled at his nephew and could see that Fili truly was glad to have some kind of relationship, even if it was only a friendship, with Kyra. "In that case...Kili. Come out now."

Thorin chuckled when he heard his youngest nephew curse and then peak his head from around the couch Fili sat on. Kili cleared his throat and waved at his brother.

"Oh, hello, Fee. Um...what can I do for you?"

Fili grinned and pulled his brother in a headlock. "I should kill you for the embarrassing situation you put Kyra and I through. However, I just wanted to thank you. If you hadn't of tricked us, Kyra and I would not be on speaking terms, and I would still be sulking about."

Kili grunted, "That's-That's great brother. Now...could you release my head?"

Thorin shook his head at his nephews. _**They are much like how Frerin and I were. **_Thorin laughed as he watched his nephews wrestle one another to the ground. He didn't hear the door open.

"Thorin? What are you all doing in here?" All three of them snapped their head to the doorway where Sara stood, hands on her hips. Thorin's throat ran dry and he couldn't help but stare at the beauty before him. _**Mahal**__**, she looks beautiful. **_Sara was wearing a 'tank top' that was a blend of orange and yellow, with 'shorts', and her hair was pulled half up while the rest ran freely down her back.

"Fili, Kili...if you two break anything in here, I'll kick your asses."

Thorin cleared his throat and looked towards his nephews, who were scrambling to their feet and looked down to the floor. _**Dis will approve of Sara. She is as strict and unyielding as my sister with those boys.**_

"We're sorry, Sara" they boys spoke in unison.

"It's okay, but next time take the wrestling match out to the living room or better yet, up on the roof," she smiled and laughed. Thorin couldn't stop the smile that spread across his face. She turned her gaze towards him and he couldn't help but stare into her beautiful green eyes.

A cough broke the silence. Thorin glared over at Kili, "Do you uh, do you want us to leave you two alone or do you need a chaperone?" He and Fili both let out a booming laugh, but were silenced by the glares that they found themselves unable to escape.

"FEE! KEE! GET YOUR ASSES OUT HERE NOW! I SWEAR TO GOD I'LL LEAVE YOU TWO BEHIND!" Kyra's booming voice sounded from the living room and both boys bolted for the door and slammed it shut.

_**How are they my flesh and blood I will never truly know. **_Thorin sighed and set the book he just finished reading aside. He felt a weight on his right knee and looked up to see Sara giving him a seductive smile and leaned in to kiss him. Thorin responded immediately to her kiss and wrapped his arms possessively around her waist. It took no time at all to plunge his tongue into her mouth and immediately feel her own brush against his. He could feel one of Sara's hands come up to stroke his bearded cheek. He deepened the kiss further and pulled her closer to him. He pulled back after some time and looked up into her eyes. _**I am the luckiest dwarf to have met such a perfect woman. **_He placed one more gentle kiss on her lips and she placed her hands on his shoulders.

"You look beautiful, my love."

Sara giggled, "Thank you. You look pretty good yourself." She winked and kissed his forehead. "Did you still want to go run errands with me today?"

Thorin nodded his head and moved to stand up. Sara started to slide off his lap, but he tucked one arm under her legs and the other was still wrapped around her waist. He laughed when she squeaked as he stood and hurried to wrap her arms around his neck.

"Thorin! You ass! Don't scare me like that! You could have dropped m—"

Thorin silenced her with his lips on her own and broke the kiss in time to see her eyes flutter open. "I would never drop you, love. Just as I will always be there to catch you, I will never let you fall."

She stared at him in awe and nodded her head slowly. He set her gently down on the floor and held her in his arms. "What did you have planned for your errands today?"

She pecked him on the cheek, "I have to go pick up my last paycheck. Then I need to go close my bank account and wire some money to my brothers." She had a sad look on her face, but shook her head, "I need to write them each a letter tonight, kind of explaining why I'm sending them money and give them an explanation of where I'm off to...without telling them where I really am going."

Thorin nodded his head, "And your father? Are you going to write to him as well?"

Sara shrugged her shoulders and leaned her head into his chest. Thorin rested his cheek on the top of her head. He took a deep breath and could smell fragrance of honeysuckle in her hair, but there was also something spicy there too.

"I don't know. I mean, I know I should because he is still my father. I know it wasn't his idea to disown me, that was my step-mother's idea. It just...it just still hurts that he did it." She sniffed and Thorin placed a kiss on her head. _**What kind of man does that to his own child? This step-mother of Sara's seems to be an awful and wicked woman.**_

"Do not think on it now. If you decide to write to him, I will support your decision. For now," he lifted a finger to her chin and tilted her head up. He smiled, "For now, let us go and enjoy the sunny day outside."

Sara nodded and wrapped her arms around his neck, "I love you."

"As I love you."

She smiled up at him and kissed him deeply. _**Things will turn out alright for her, I am sure of it. **_There kiss was interrupted by a loud ringing sound. Sara shook her head and mumbled out an apology.

"Hello?"..."Oh, Hi Mr. Andrews. How are you?"...Sara laughed, "I'm glad to hear that,"..."Yes, the girls and I will still be helping out with the Renaissance Fair this year. However, we are moving and so it will be our last one,"..."I know, I know, but we do have a bit of a surprise for your weapons demonstration exhibit. Kyra has some volunteers,"...She winked at Thorin, _**What is that woman planning?...**_"Yes! They are very excited to help out! You'll get quite the line up of people this year,"..."Of course! They'll be a sensation! I have a volunteer for the healers expo and Emma has a volunteer for the sketching stall she runs,"..."Oh you'll love them! They are just so excited, they can hardly stand it!"..."Fantastic! We will see you this weekend Mr. Andrews!"..."Bye!" Sara tucked her phone into her pocket and turned to face Thorin.

"What is a 'Renaissance Fair?'"

Sara giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck, "Don't you and the company will love it! I think you'll all fit in quite nicely."

She leaned up to kiss him, but Thorin held her by the shoulders at arms length. His brows knit together in confusion, "Sara? What do you mean by 'the company will love it?' You mean to expose my men to ridicule?"

Sara scoffed, "No," she crossed her arms. "A Renaissance Fair is like what you would all call a 'carnival' of sorts. Everyone dresses in olden time clothes or more like how you all dress and they have weapons demonstrations with swords and axes that Kyra runs. An olden time healer's tent, which is where I am stationed. They even have a forge for people who do blacksmith work as a hobby. You'll love it! You will all fit in, I promise."

_**I don't know...I don't want to expose my men to any kind of ridicule for dressing differently or speaking, as Kyra put it, "In a 'weird-ass' way." **_Thorin reluctantly nodded his head in consent and pulled her close to him, just as Sara snaked her arms around his neck.

"I'll tell you what. When we get back from running errands, I'll dig up our pictures from previous fairs and let you take a look for yourself, okay?"

Thorin smirked, "Very well, but if I do not like the idea..." he leaned in closer to her.

"Then I won't force you or the company to go," she padded his chest with one hand and he closed the gap between them to place a deep kiss on her lips. "Now, let's get out of here, huh?" She entwined her hand with his and led him into the living room. Thorin shook his head in amusement as he followed her and looked around at his men. _**They look bored. Perhaps this 'fair' is just what they need to get out of the apartment.**_

"Ready to go?" Sara tugged on his hand and winked.

Thorin nodded his head and they headed out the door. Thorin turned to close the door behind him and caught sight of his men tossing coin bags between one another and laughing. _**Mahal, I do loathe that dwarves gamble so much, but to gamble on my relationship with**_ _**Sara? I pray these next few days will pass by swiftly.**_

_Kyra_

_**Okay, library books dropped off...check. Still need to get Kili back for that stunt this morning. **_Kyra was walking back towards her car in front of the library. She made sure to park where Fili could "keep a look out for her well-being." _**What a doofus. **_She was almost to her car, she could hear the bass blasting from Kili turning the radio up, when her phone vibrated in her pocket. She looked to see who it was and squealed with a smile on her face.

"Hello!"

_"Hello! Is this the fabulous and absolutely gorgeous Kyra Simmons?"_

"Yes! Is this the most handsome and upcoming fashion designer Danny Michaels I have the pleasure of speaking to?"

_"Guilty!" _Danny sang back to her. _"Girl, how are you? I miss my favorite trio of gorgeousness."_

Kyra laughed, "Gorgeousness huh? I'm doing good. How are you? How was your fashion show?"

_"It was fabulous! Oh my, God! I had a blast and they loved my clothing line! I spoke to some agents and even met Chanel."_

"Shut up! You did not!"

_"Pssh, girl, please! I am the hottest thing in fashion right now!"_

Kyra giggled, then looked to her car to see the boys arguing over something and headed over to them. "So what's going on? Are you back in New York?"

_"Got in last night. Chris and I just finished unpacking and I just had to let you know how the show went."_

"That's awesome! I'm so glad it went so well! Hey, I need to let you and Chris know..."

_"Yes?..."_

"Well, we're moving."

_"What?! And when were you girls planning on telling me this? I need to throw you an ultimate goodbye bash! New York style, of course."_

She could hear Danny laughing on the other line as she ducked into the driver's seat. "Of course. We wouldn't expect less from you, honey." She turned to see Fili had given her a strange look. She shook her head and mouthed, "I'll tell you later," and he nodded his head.

_"You should all pop by sometime. I'm dying to hear about why you're all leaving me alone to rot in New York."_

Kyra giggled, "You're not alone, biotch! You have Chris there with you!"

_"That doesn't count. Seriously though, you should stop by. I have some fabulous free clothes for you all!"_

Kyra's eyes grew wide with excitement. "Are you serious?! That would be awesome!" _**I need some new clothes. Maybe Chris could give us all a haircut or trim before we leave...OH!...Oh, Kili is so going to get it...**_"Danny?"

_"Yes, baby-girl?"_

"Do you think you could do me a favor today? I have a friend who asked Emma out on a date and he needs some...clothes for tonight. Think we could swing by in five minutes?"

_"Ooh! A new project?! Hell yeah girl! Come on over! I have to approve this 'date' for Emma. I don't trust straight men as far as I can throw them when it comes to you three."_

"Awesome! We'll be over in five minutes. Ciao!"

_"Ciao, babe!"_

Kyra hung up the phone and stuck it back into her pocket. She was still smiling and she went to put the car into drive. _**It**__**'s way too quiet...Why aren't Fili and Kili talking or something? **_She looked to her left to see Fili with a confused look on his face and then turned to the back to see Kili with an equally, if not even more so, confused look on his face. "What?"

"Who was that?" Fili asked. His face turned from confusion to anger in less than a second.

"My friend, Danny. We're going to go see him real quick. You guys will love him!"

"Why must we go see this 'Danny' person? Is it necessary?" Fili practically spat out his irritation of the whole situation. _**Oh my, God! Is he jealous? Seriously?**_

"Fili, he's one of my best friends. And if you remember our conversation from earlier...he's definitely not a threat to me."

Fili's eyes grew wide with understanding, "You mean he...? He's...?"

Kyra laughed and simply nodded her head. She buckled back up and headed back onto the street. _**Oh wow! This is going to be an interesting revenge!**_

"Why are we going to see 'Danny' for my date with Emma? Is this a process one must go through in order to 'date' in your world?" Kili still sounded confused and slightly afraid of the situation.

Kyra looked at him in the rearview mirror and gave him a wink, "Let's just say...when it comes to Emma, Sara, or I dating someone...Danny and Chris have to have a say in it. So in a way, it's like asking permission from our brothers to date us. Plus, Danny has some clothes you can borrow for your date tonight."

"Wha—? What's wrong with my clothes?"

"Nothing, if you want to stick out like a sore thumb and go to a renaissance fair; but to go out on the town in New York City?...Probably should find you some clothes so you can fit in." _**Oh, I should probably give him the beanie now. Then we can avoid any...awkward questions about the ears. Should probably give Fili one too...just in case. **_"Here we are," she pulled the car over and parked. Then she reached into her glovebox and pulled out two beanie hats. "Put these on and don't take them off." They each gave her a puzzled look, but did as she told them to. "You'll have to leave your jackets in here and I'll pull out my Dad's leather jackets for you two to wear."

She got out of the car and could hear that they both were grumbling in Khudzul, but still did as she told them to. She popped the trunk and pulled out the brown leather jacket Fili wore last time and tossed it to him. He caught it without even looking up. _**How does he do that?! That's the kind of shit I need to learn! **_She reached into the trunk again and pulled out a black leather jacket for Kili and tossed it to him as well. Once they were ready, she smiled and nodded for them to follow her into the building. _**Unlike our place, this one has a functioning elevator. I can't wait to see their faces when they realize this is how we are getting up to the apartment. **_She giggled silently to herself and pressed the button for the elevator.

"What is this?" Fili was looking the elevator doors up and down, almost as if he didn't trust it.

"It's called an elevator. It can carry a certain weight of people up so many stories in a building. It's just a lazier way to get up several floors of a building than taking the stairs," she saw him nod in understanding and looked over at Kili who looked like an excited puppy again. _**God, is he ever not excited about something? **_The elevator dinged and she entered once it opened. She turned around to see that they had yet to follow her in. _**My God, they look like scared little boys.**_ She held the 'door open' button and gave them a stern look.

"Get your asses in here now."

They quickly complied and came to stand on either side of her. She shook her head and pressed the number seven button.

"What do we do now?" Kili whispered.

She giggled, "Hold on." The elevator door closed.

"To what?!" they both cried out as the elevator came to life and started to lift them up. She snorted when Kili grabbed on to the bars on the side. She felt a large rough hand hold on to hers tightly and looked to her right to see Fili. His eyes were assessing everything and he looked concerned. _**Oh, poor guy. I guess I should have explained it better...Why is my hand tingling from his touch? **_She cleared her throat and gave his hand a squeeze, before letting it go. The elevator came to a stop and she laughed so hard when she saw the two of them scramble out of the elevator onto the solid floor.

"You-you're faces!" she snorted, "Priceless!" she wheezed and practically fell to the floor on her hands and knees laughing. She didn't notice the grins the two shared before it was too late. She looked up and saw them lunge towards her. Tackling her to the ground and tickling her, making her squirm and squeal in laughter.

"S-stop it you-you assholes!" she laughed, "P-please! S-stop! I-I'm sorry! I'm...I'm sorry!" They finally let up and Fili helped her to her feet. She gave each of them a punch on the arm and headed down the hallway. She knocked on the door 7C and could hear shuffling coming from the inside.

"Who is it?" Danny's voice rang out.

"Housekeeping! You want me fluff pillow?!" Kyra said in a high pitched voice. The door flew open to reveal Danny with a grin on his face.

"Kyra!" He pulled her in for a hug and spun her around as she squealed. He set her back down and they gave each other a kiss on each cheek. "How are you?!" He held her hands out to the side, "Girl you look sexy! Turn around!"

_**Jesus, must we go through this every single time? **_She rolled her eyes and gave a slow turn for her friend.

"Mhmm...girl I've said it once and I will say again! You're ass is perfect! If I had an ass like yours I could die a happy man!"

"Yeah, whatever! I bet Chris thinks your ass is sexy!" she yelled out as she entered their apartment.

"Damn straight, honey!" Chris' voice rang out from somewhere in the kitchen area.

"And who are these delicious dishes?" Danny's voice brought to her attention Fili and Kili standing there awkwardly in the doorway. She could see they were about to speak and possibly bow to Danny, so she cut in.

"Oh!" she rushed over and pulled on their hands, tugging them into the entryway and then stood beside Danny. "This is..." she pointed Fili, "Finnick. He goes by Fee." She could see he was about to object, so she shook her head from behind Danny's shoulder as she mouthed to both guys, "Play along!"

Fili gave a subtle nod and extended his hand to Danny. "It's nice to meet you."

"Ooh, you two must be European. The pleasure is all mine."

"Danny," she warned.

"Very well, I'll behave. And who is this?" She could see Danny's eyes roving Kili over and over.

"This is..." _**Shit! I can't think of a name...OH!...**_"This is Killian. He goes by Kee."

Kili extended his hand to Danny as well, "It's very nice to meet you."

Danny shook both of their hands and turned to Kyra with a, "What's going on?" look. She shrugged her shoulders and made to follow him to the living room.

"Chris, baby! We have company!" Danny gestured for them to take a seat. Kyra sat down by Danny on the couch and the brothers sat across from them on the armchairs. They were each taking a look around the apartment and she could see from the corner of her eye that Fili was not happy with being here. His eyes kept narrowing at Danny any time he touched Kyra. _**I probably should have warned him that Danny and Chris can be very touchy-feely. Oh well, too late now. I'll just let him **__**deal with**__** it.**_

"Kyra?" Chris came up on her other side of the couch and smiled at her.

"Chris! Oh my, God! It's been forever! How are you?" She hugged him and kissed him on both cheeks just as she normally did. She could hear a slight growl coming from Fili.

"I'm just great! You look gorgeous as always!" Kyra giggled as Chris spun her around. "And who are your friends, hun?"

"Oh, this is Finnick, he goes by Fee and Killian, he goes by Kee. Guys this is Chris."

They both held out their hands for Chris to shake and then sat back down. _**So far so good. **_

"So, which one of you asked our little Emma out on a date?" Danny pointedly looked over at Kili.

Kili blushed, "I-I did."

Danny and Chris looked at each other and then back at Kili and nodded. "Not bad. Emma did a good job. We taught you all so well." Danny winked at me and I gave him a confused look. He nodded his head to Fili and I bit back a choking sound.

"Oh, no. Fee and I are just friends. Kee is his brother and he wanted to come help him for his big date tonight."

She didn't miss the hurt she saw in Fili's eyes but she ignored it and turned back to Danny who had gotten out of his seat and walked over to Kili.

"Could you stand please?"

Kili looked at Fili and then at Kyra. She nodded her head in encouragement and gave him a smile. "I suppose." Kili rose out of his seat and stood there shuffling his feet.

"Hmm..." Danny started to walk around Kili to inspect him. "I like the look of his face and his hair. The beanie is a good touch...You're doing, I take it?" He looked at Kyra and she nodded. "Thought so. It works, so good choice. The boots are doable and the jacket is a possibility. We just need to find you some good jeans and a shirt to go with it and you're good to go."

Kili smiled at Danny and nodded his head. "Great! What now?"

_**Oh poor Kili. He has no idea what he's about to be put through. **_"Now," Chris said as he rose from the couch and walked over to Danny. "Now the work begins. Follow us, honey. We'll get you taken care of."

"What?! C-Can't Fee and Kyra come too?" Kili sounded panicked. It took everything in Kyra to not laugh out loud.

"Oh, don't worry, handsome. We're just going to have you step over here with us," Danny began as he and Chris led Kili over to their 'Dressing Room' area, "and have you step up on this pedestal. Then we'll take some measurements, have you step behind that curtain area, and give you some clothes to try on. M'kay?"

"How, uh...How long will this take?" Kili turned around to look pleadingly at Fili and Kyra. _**Oh my, God! He looks like he's going to cry. **_

"Oh, not long at all," Chris assured him distractedly as he rummaged through their rack of men's clothing.

"Probably no more than two hours at least," Danny said nonchalantly as he pulled out his measuring tape. Kili's eyes grew wide and then he glared in the mirror before him, directly at Kyra.

"Payback's a bitch, isn't it Kee?" she called out to him. She laughed even harder when he gave her a rude hand gesture. She got up to go sit on the small couch in front of the pedestal, when she felt a large hand wrap around her wrist. She looked up to see Fili glaring at her. _**Jesus, who pissed in his cheerios? **_"Hey, Fee...what's wrong?"

"What are you playing at?" he whispered.

"What are you talking about? This is my payback for the stunt he pulled on us this morning."

"I fail to see how subjecting him to..." he motioned with his hands towards the three men behind them, "this is a punishment."

Kyra rolled her eyes and sighed, "Fee," she tapped at his hand on her wrist and he let go long enough for her to take his hand in hers. "Nothing bad is going to happen to him. It's a punishment, because he will have to hold very, _very_ still in order for him to get the right size of clothing for tonight." _**And knowing Kili that is torture.**_ "Technically, I'm also keeping my promise to help him with his date with Emma too."

Realization dawned on Fili's face and he shook his head while he laughed, "Remind me to never get on your bad side."

She laughed, "Oh don't worry, if you were on my bad side, you would know," she winked at him. I'm by no means done with his punishment. There may be some begging involved, but we can get to that later. For now, let's go watch him squirm, shall we?" Then she pulled him by the hand to go sit down and watch as Kili was subjected to Danny's ministrations.

Chris brought over some drinks and food for the two of them to eat. _**This is the kind of friendship I could get used to with Fee. Relaxed. **_She tugged her feet up onto the couch and felt large hands pull at her feet. _**What the hell?!**_ She tried to tug them back and looked over to see that it was Fili who held her feet and placed them onto his lap. She smiled at him and he winked at her. Then they raised their glasses of wine together.

"To Kee," she giggled.

"To Kee," he raised his glass to his lips and they both turned to watch Kili's frustrated and yet, very embarrassed face. They both laughed and talked while Kili was being measured and prodded for clothes for his date later that night. _**Tonight's**__** going to be one hell of a night.**_

_Author's Note: _All right, everyone...What did you think? I know it didn't have the Emma blow up bit (no worries that's in the next chapter! The reaction to her freak out is hilarious!), but it did have Kyra's revenge (don't think that Kili is getting off too easy. She still has more up here sleeve as far as getting him back for the bathroom incident) and a lot of fluff for the couples/friends. So...you loved it? You hated it? You wanted something a little different? Sorry to my Fili/Kyra lovers out there...don't worry, this friendship will lead to something more, I promise. ;) Please leave me a review/comment/critique. UP NEXT: Emma's monumental blow up! Kili gets a look at just how truly fierce his woman can be. Kyra and Sara...will they make up? Plus, date night's coming up! :D I love to hear from my readers! Thanks to all who reviewed my last chapter! Your responses were extremely uplifting and a definite confidence booster! :D A big thank you to all who have read/favorite/followed my story! TTFN!


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